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MORGAN 



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HIS CAPTORS. 



By Rev. F. SENOUR. 



1871 



cmcmNATi: 

C. F. VENT & Co., 38 WEST FOURTH STREET. 
CHICAGO : W DEARBORN STREET. 



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1865. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 

Rev. F. SENOUR, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United 
States, in and for the Southern District of Ohio. 



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eXBKKOTYPKD AT FRANKLIN 
TYPK FOUNDRY, CIN. O. 



PREFACE 



The author of this volume has long and firmly believed that 
"God is in history." This statement will be regarded by some 
persons as a mere superstition, " What a startling fact, thai 
men brought up amid the elevated ideas of Christianity regard 
as mere superstition that Divine intervention in human affairs 
which the very heathen have admitted! There is a living 
principle, emanating from God, in every national movement. 
God is ever present on that vast theater where men meet and 
Btruggle." Because the author firmly believes this, he has un- 
dertaken to write this history, and thereby preserve a record 
of a part of God's wonderful providence in this cruel war. 
We may not now be able to trace the hand of God in all or 
any of the events herein recorded, but, by preserving them, 
future generations may do so, and see clearly tnaf which is 
i>ow, at best, but imperfectly understood. The great actors on 
the stage of life hav^e been but imperfectly understood by those 
around them ; and, in many instances, the actors themselves 
have been profoundly ignorant of the grand results that God 
was weaving out of their lives and deeds. How many of tho 

(iii) 



IV PREFACE. 

living witnesses of the career of Washington, Marion, Crom- 
well, or Zwingle, had any just conceptions of the result of their 
acts? Did they themselves see clearly the hand of God 
in their lives? Much, very much, that was dark then is 
now clear, because a faithful record of their deeds was 
made. This is a high motive for writing a faithful and true 
history. 

Another worthy motive in writing a history is the hope of 
thereby instructing and warning the present and future gen- 
erations of men. What would be the condition of this gen- 
eration and nation but for the lessons of the history of the 
past ? History has taught us to love our free institutions, and 
defend them to the last. The history of this rebellion may 
teach our posterity to love these heaven-born blessings even 
more than we do. It may warn them to avoid the evils that 
have been tolerated almost at the great cost of our national 
life. 

These motives, together with the fact that much of the ma- 
terial out of which this book has been formed seemed, provi- 
dentially, to fall into his hands, have induced the author to 
give it to the public. And no one can be more sensible than 
.himself that he has not polished or dressed handsomely these 
materials. Having formed his plan, he put the material he 
had into it, polished or unpolished. It is for the reader to 
judge of the architectural qualities of the work. 

More prominence has been given to the great secession con- 
spiracy in Kentucky than may seem justifiable in w^riting a 
book entitled " Morgan and his Captors." But it seemed 



PREFA-CE. ■? 

necessary to say wliat he has, in order to understand fully tlie 
character of Morgan and other prominent secessionists of that 
state. And, furthermore, less could not have been said with- 
out doing great injustice to that noble and loyal band of pa- 
triots in Kentucky who did and suffered so much for their 
country. For this part of the work, the author is laigely in- 
debted to several published articles from the pen of tliat ster- 
ling patriot. Rev. E. J. Breckinridge, D. D. 

The author has freely used whatever material he has found 
in other publications, which seemed to him to contribute to the 
interest and truthfulness of this history. And here he would 
make an especial acknowledgment of numerous letters from 
various sources, which have been of great assistance in pre- 
paring this work. 

The author has labored to write a true and impartial his- 
tory, without reference to political parties, and without any 
design of |X)litical effect other than that which the truth may 
produce. If he has failed in this, it is because he has been 
misled. 

Tacitus assures us that Hietorj^ is listened to with more 
favor wdien she slanders and disparages. " Obtrectatio et livor 
proyvts auribus aeciphmturJ' The author has not had the cul- 
pable ambition of plea,sing at the expense of truth. 

The reader may desire to know why the sketches of other 
persons who aided in the captare of Morgan are not in this 
work. It would have given the author great satisfaction to 
have given sketches of General Judah, Colonels Crittenden, 
Wolford, Major Fishback, and other officers and privates who 



Vi PREFACE. 

did their duty nobly in the pursuit of Morgan ; but that would 
have made the work much larger than the author designed 
it to be. He, therefore, concluded to give sketches of 
fiuch officers only as will be necessary to give to the reader 
a clear and full understanding of the pursuit and capture of 
Morgan. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 1 11 

Morgan and the great secession conspii'acy in Kentucky — Great 
excitement in Lexington, Ky. — Kentucky the mother of pa- 
triots and traitors — The Breckinridge partj^ — Governor Magof- 
fin — The veto power exercised — The Legislature of Kentucky 
—The Knights of the Golden Circle— The State Guard— The 
private meeting of secession leaders — Rev. Dr. Breckinridge — 
Magoffin's letter to the President — The President's reply — 
Camp Dick Ptobinson and General Nelson — Camp Joe Holt and 
Colonels Rousseau and Pope — Home Guards — The arming of 
Camp Dick Robinson — Morgan's Rifle Company — The over- 
throw of the conspiracy. 

CHAPTER II 46 

Morgan's nativity — Personal appearance and character — Defeats 
an enemy and makes a capture without the use of sword or 
saber — His marriage — Brief account of battles, raids, skirm- 
ishes, etc., in Kentucky — Design of his raids — Incidents — A 
sympathizing parson. 

CHAPTER III 91 

Morgan in Tennessee — His military character — At Edgefield — 
Capture of a Federal brigade — Narrow escape of Morgan — Cap- 
ture of a Brigadier-General — Morgan's first thorough defeat — - 
Incidents. 

CHAPTER IV 108 

Morgan's gi'eat raid through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio — Iha 
line of his march — At Burkesville — Fights at Columbia and 
Green River Bridge — A female soldier — Fight and surrender at 
Lebanon — Morgan marches to Brandenburg — A warlike event 

(vii) 



Viii CONTEXTS. 

at tbis place before the present war — The capture of twc 
steamers — Efforts to preyent the rebels from crossing the river 
— His march from the river to Corjdon, Ind. — The battle and 
capture of Corydon — Incidents of the capture. 

CHAPTER V 131 

Great excitement in Indiana — Morgan in Indiana — The design 
of the invasion — The march from Corydo-n to Sa^lem — Captua-e 
of Salem and destruction of the railroad — Interesting inci- 
dents — His march through the counties of Washington, Scott, 
Jefferson, Jennings, Ripley, and De-arborn — Military blander 
— Great excitement and panic in Northern Illinois. 

CHAPTEE, YI 150 

The proclamation of Governor Tod — Morgan in Ohio — Patriotism 
of the people — The state militia — An incident related by Mor- 
gan — Morgan at Harrison — Destroys a railroad — At East Syca- 
more — At Camp Dennison — At Buffington Island — Incidents. 

CHAPTER VII ITS 

The pursuit and capture of Morgan — His imprisonment and 
escape. 

CHAPTER VIII 219 

Brigadier-General Hobson — His nativity — Self-made man — His 
visit to the South — Works at his trade — Becomes a merchant— 
A soldier in the Mexican wai" — At the battle of Buena Vista — 
Returns home and resumes business — A Union man — His life 
threatened — Raises a regiment for the United States service — 
Attempt by the rebels to capture his force and rob the bank — 
A second attempt to capture Hobson — A hazardous under- 
taking — The regiment moves with General Buell's army — Hob- 
son at Corinth — At Mount Washington — In Tennessee — At 
Green River Bridge — Defeats Morgan — Various expeditions — • 
General Hobson ordered to Lexington — Narrow escape — Re- 
sists the entrance of Morgan into Kentucky — Vigorous pui'suit 
of Morgan through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio — Battle of 
Bufdngton. 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTER IX -^^ 

Brigadier-General Shackelford-His nativity— In the Mexican 
war— His profession and marriage— His perils in raising a 
regiment in Kentucky— At Fort Donelson— He leads a charge—. 
His wound— Made a Brigadier-General— His pursuit of Mor- 
gan through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio-The battle at 
Bashan Church, Ohio— Assumes command of the expedition— 
The pursuit until Morgan is captured— Shackelford in East 
Tennessee— At the siege of KnoxviUe and in other engage- 
ments. 

CHAPTER X ^''^ 

Colonel R. T. Jacob, of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry and Lieutenant- 
Governor of Kentucky— A heroine and daughter of Benton - 
The birth of Colonel Jacob— His early character— Perilous 
journey to California-Colonel Jacob and General Fremont in 
California— Return to the states— Marriage— 111 health— In 
Missouri— Unites with the Presbyterian Church— A ruling 
elder— His character— Elected a member of the Legislature- 
Deserts the Breckinridge party— On the Committee on Federal 
Relations-Speeches-Reelected to the Legislature in 1861— 
He is strongly in favor of the Union-Enters the military serv- 
ice-At Richmond-Fight at Clay Village-A most exciting 
fight at Lawrenceburg— Colonel Jacob wounded— Exciting 
sc°ene on his return to his regiment— Engagement on 10th of 
March, 1863, with Morgan's advance— His pursuit of Morgan 
through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio-Election as Lieutenant- 
Governor of Kentucky— His speeches. 

CHAPTER XI ^^^ 

ISIajor G. W. Rue, the captor of iSIorgan— His report to Colonel 
Lewis Richmond— Particulars of the capture— Interview be- 
tween Morgan and Rue— Interview between Morgan, Shackel- 
ford, and Wolford— A good Providence— Major Rue's nativity 
—His education and military character— Rue in Mexico— Rue 
a Christian. 



X CONTENTS. 

TAGH 

CHAPTER XII 343 

Morgan's late raid into Kentucky, in June, 1864 — Enters the state 
at Pound Gap — Capture of Mount, Sterling — Uprising of guer- 
rillas and Knights of the Golden Circle — Their depredations 
at various places — Governor Bramlette and the siege of Frank- 
fort — General Burbridge defeats Morgan at Mount Sterling — 
Morgan at Lexington — Marches toward Frankfort, but sud- 
denly changes his course — At Cynthiana defeats and captures 
the Union forces — Is defeated by Burbridge the day following 
— Dispatches of General Burbridge to the President and Secre- 
tary of War — Distinguished regiments — Detail statements — 
Incidents. 

CHAPTER XIII 381 

rrophetical speech of Stephens, Vice-President of the Rebel Gov- 
ernment — The death of Morgan — Killed by Andrew G. Camp- 
bell, an East Tennesseean — Rebel account of his surprise, 
death, and obsequies — Concluding remarks. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS, 



CHAPTER I. 

MORGAN AND THE GREAT SECESSION CONSPIRACY IN KENTUCKY — GREAT EXCITE- 
MENT IN LEXINGTON, KY. — KENTUCKY THE MOTHER OF PATRIOTS AND TRAI- 
TORS — THE BRECKINRIDGE PARTY — GOVERNOR MAGOFFIN — THE VETO POWEB 
EXERCISED — THE LEGISLATURE OF KENTUCKY — THE KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN 
CIRCLE — THE STATE GUARD — THE PRIVATE MEETING OF SECESSION LEADERS — 
EEV. DR. BRECKINRIDGE — MAGOFFIN'S LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT — THE PRESI- 
DENT'S REPLY — CAMP DICK ROBINSON AND GENERAL NELSON — CAMP JOE HOLT 
AND COLONELS ROUSSEAU AND POPE — HOME GUARDS — THE ARMING OF CAMP 
DICK ROBINSON— morgan's RIFLE COMPANY — THE OVERTHROW OF THE CON- 
SPIRACY. 

ON a fair day, in the month of August, 1861, the 
inhabitants of the beautiful city of Lexington, 
Kentucky, were startled by the sound of a war-bugle 
in their streets. People thronged the principal ave- 
nues, and a thousand cheeks were blanched, as if a 
thunderbolt had fallen from the clear sky above their 
heads. There was fear that scenes of carnage and 
blood would be witnessed that day. Men, women, 
and children hurried to and fro, and excitedly in- 
quired of one another what that bugle-sound meant. 
Scarcely had the last wild and warlike notes died 

away until a bell was heard ringing at the railroad 

(11) 



12 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

depot, wliicli only increased the anxiety and excite- 
ment of the people. That bugle-blast called to- 
gether one or tAvo hundred armed secessionists, who 
expected at once to perpetrate deeds of violence and 
bloodshed. Captain John H. Morgan was their leader. 
This was the first appearance of the present famous 
guerrilla chieftain in the great conflict that is now 
shaking our country to its center. That appearance 
and demonstration were the signal for a general out- 
break of a great conspiracy to take possession of 
Kentucky by fire and sword, and hand over the glo- 
rious old commonwealth, bound hand and foot, to the 
mercies of the Southern Confederacy. What the ring- 
ing of the bell at the depot meant, why no blood was 
shed on that day, and how Morgan and his followers and 
allies were foiled in Avhat they were on the very eve of 
commencing, will appear in the sequel of this chapter. 
Esau and Jacob sprang from the same womb, yet 
they were characters widely different. The one was 
the friend of God, the other the enemy ; the one was 
a true friend of his race, the hand of the other was 
against every man. Kentucky gave birth to Abraham 
Lincoln and Jefi'erson Davis, to General Hobson and 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 18 

John Morgan. She is the mother of many of the most 
sterhng patriots and many of the most wicked traitors. 
No one will think of attaching blame to Rehekah for 
giving birth to children so widely different in charac- 
ter. No person will think for a moment of blaming 
Kentucky because John Morgan and a host of traitors 
were born on her soil. Remember that, while she has 
produced traitors, she has also produced a host of 
patriots, who have done much, endured much, and 
suffered much for the cause of their country. It is 
a matter of great wonderment to every one who was 
acquainted with the real state of affairs in Kentucky 
during the early stages of the rebellion, that the state, 
with all its military resources, did not fall into the 
hands of the rebel authorities at the very commence- 
ment of the great rebellion, or soon thereafter. Her 
own patriotic cliildren did much to save her from the 
hands of traitors. 

Whoever will consider the number, the influence, 
and machinations of the real enemies, but, in some 
instances, pretended friends of Kentucky, with an un- 
prejudiced mind, will not fail to admit that the remarks 
we have made are true and just. 



14 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

FroiD the commencement of the secession movement 
in the Southern states, the Breckinridge wing of the 
Democratic party, with a few honorable exceptions, 
were thorough secessionists, and made every effort in 
their power to carry Kentucky out of the Union, and 
link her destiny with that of the Southern Confederacy. 
The leading members of that party, whose influence 
at that time was very great in the state, were untiring 
in their efforts to accomplish this result. The most 
important offices of the state were filled by men of that 
party. Governor Magoffin was a leader of the party, 
and there was some ground for the suspicion that he 
was a secessionist. Whoever will remember his curt 
and unpatriotic reply to President Lincoln, when, in 
the month of April, 1861, Kentucky was called on to 
furnish two regiments of volunteers to aid in protect- 
ing the Capital of our country, will have a tolerably 
well-founded suspicion that his heart was with the 
enemies of the government. "Your dispatch," said 
the Governor, "is received. In answer, I say, mi- 
phatically, Kentucky will furnish no troops for the 
wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern 
states." 



MORGAN AXD HIS CAPTORS. 15 

Whoever will call to mind the fact that, when the 
Legislature of Kentucky had passed a resolution di- 
recting the Governor of the state to issue a proclama- 
tion ordering the Confederate troops to evacuate the 
Boil of Kentucky, tliat he vetoed the resolution, will 
have his suspicions strengthened that the Governor 
threw his influence on the side of armed traitors. 
Then, if we will remember that the Governor also 
vetoed the resolution passed by the Legislature, invit- 
ing that heroic Christian gentleman. Major (now Gene- 
ral) Robert Anderson, the commander of Fort Sumter 
when it was captured, to take command of the forces 
of the state, will have his suspicions confirmed. Then, 
if we will remember, in addition to all this, the letter 
of the Governor to the President of the United States, 
in which he urged the removal from the limits of the 
state the small loyal volunteer organization encamped 
at Camp Dick Robinson, and more especially if we will 
remember the part taken by him in the famous Scoti 
County meeting on Sunday, the 17th of August, 1861, 
(of which meeting more will be said hereafter), we 
shall hardly have a doubt left that he was casting the 
weight of his official position and personal influence in 



16 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

favor of the secession conspiracy. What we have thus 
written concerning Governor Magoffin has not been 
done for any political effect, or through any personal 
prejudice, but simply because he was a representative 
man in the times of which we are writing, and for the 
especial purpose of making good our statement that 
the Breckinridge wing of the Democratic party in 
Kentucky were thorough secessionists, with a few 
honorable exceptions. 

The Legislature of the state was also chiefly under 
the influence of the secession party up to August, 
1861, when the loyal people of the state elected a new 
and thoroughly loyal Legislature. Not to call atten- 
tion to other acts of the Legislature which held office 
from August, 1859, to August, 1861, we need only 
call attention to the fact that that body, on the 22d 
of January, 1861, passed a resolution, " that, in view 
of the tenders of men and money by several of the 
Northern states to the General Government, the peo- 
ple of Kentucky, uniting with their brethren of the 
South, will resist the invasion of the soil of the South, 
at all hazards, and to the last extremity."' We say 
that this rcsolation is sufficient to stamp the character 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 17 

of that Legislature as a secession body, working in 
the interests of that great movement which had for 
its end the overthrow of this great a,nd good govern- 
ment. In what we have said of the Legislative body 
that was in office from August, 1859, to August, 1861, 
we do not mean to convey the idea that all the mem- 
bers of that body were secessionists, for the contrary 
of all this is true. There was a loyal minority in that 
body, who exerted a strong conservative influence, and 
who, unquestionably, hindered the disloyalists of the 
Legislature from going to greater extremes of oppo- 
sition to the General Government than they did, as 
the reader will see by turning to the sketch of the 
life of Colonel R. T. Jacob, in another part of this 
work. 

What has thus been stated conveys a fair idea of 
the condition of aifairs in Kentucky during the early 
stages of the great rebellion. Both the Executive 
and Legislative authorities of the state were under the 
influence, and, to a very considerable extent, the con- 
trol of the powerful secession party of which we have 
already spoken. It was the purpose of this party 
to take the state out of the Union. They used the 



18 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

greatest assiduity to accomplish this result. What- 
ever means had been used successfully in the se- 
ceded states they tried in Kentucky. And when 
these failed, they — that is, the leaders and thousands 
of the more humble members of the party — attempted 
to drive Kentucky out of the Union at the point of the 
sword. It is a wonder they did not succeed. The 
secessionists and traitors of the state never had a 
doubt of the success of their efforts. Even Union men 
trembled for the fate of the state, and, at times, their 
hearts failed them. But the hand of God, dimly 
seen by many of the Union men, and altogether un- 
seen by traitors, was in the midst of the people, work- 
ing out great and glorious results. 

KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. 

There was another element of opposition to the 
Union cause in Kentucky that was powerful and dan- 
gerous. "A secret^ political and military organiza- 
tion, called the Knights of the Golden Circle, had 
been widely introduced into the state, by means of a 

* See «' Danville Review" for March, 1862. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 19 

great number of castles, as its lodges were called, 
organized among the secessionists of the state. We 
have no means of determining with certainty whal% 
number of initiated members these castles unitedly 
contained; for, indeed,. the practice of secrecy and the 
use of numerous grades of membership, together with 
a complicated jargon, made doubly unintelligible by 
hieroglyphics and pantomime, enabled a select central 
organization to monopolize at once all knowledge of 
its force and all power to use it. It was one of those 
monsters, sprung from the fermenting dregs of revo- 
lutions, whose vile life is nourished only by filth and 
blood. The paternity of the order was ostentatiously 
claimed by a person called Bickley, who assumed the 
title of its General in certain mysterious advertise- 
ments, and in occasional treasonable proclamations. 
The avowed objects of the order were various. Some- 
times it was to protect the Spanish states on the 
southern portion of this continent ; sometimes to pro- 
tect the institution of slavery in our own Southern 
states ; in Ohio, its secret pretext was the restoration 
of the Democratic party to power; while ai Kentucky 
its repeatedly avowed design was to aid, by arms, in 



20 MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the separation of the state from the Eederal Union, 
and the annexation of it to a Southern Confederacy. 
,^ts modes of proceedings, its hieroglyphics, and its 
horrible oaths were disclosed in Kentucky, and made 
public through the press ; while, in several other 
states, the same result was partially obtained in cer- 
tain judicial investigations. In short, it was a stand- 
ing conspiracy against the peace of society and the 
safety of individuals, existing in the double form of a 
menace to all virtue, public and private, and of a 
refuge for desperadoes and ruffians. Its mere exist- 
ence proved that society was fatally disordered ; while 
its wide dissemination through the nation, and espe- 
cially throughout the Southern states, of which its 
General openly boasted through the press, uncontra- 
dicted, was an infallible premonition either of dissolu- 
tion or the sword. There was a sort of a standing 
advertisement by tliis General Bickley, that he had 
at his bidding an army of Kentucky Knights of the 
Golden Circle, armed, equipped, always increasing, 
always ready for battle, and never rated by him at 
less than eight thousand, with which, when the word 
was given by those with whom he cooperated, he 



MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 21 

would immediately plant his flag on the Capitol. It 
is manifest that such a force, on a sudden emergency, 
could not have been cut to pieces, as matters then 
stood, without costing Kentucky an infinite price in 
the lives of her noblest citizens ; and that it could not 
have been resisted at all by a force hastily collected 
and imperfectly organized, unless that force was com- 
posed of dauntless men, accustomed to the use of 
arms. After all that has occurred since, it is not 
boasting to say that, nevertheless. General Bickley 
and his Knights would have been cut to pieces, if he 
had ever got the word he was waiting for. The most 
surprising part to posterity of the whole affaii' will, 
perhaps, be, that not the slightest movement was 
made, either by the civil or military authorities of the 
party then in power, from the Governor of the state 
down, to call this traitor and his band to account, or 
to protect the loyal people of the state against them, 
unless, indeed, the heroic indifference with which that 
loyal population contemplated both the proceedings 
of Bickley and his Knights and the connivance of the 
Governor should appear more surprising." 



22 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

THE STATE GUARD. 

The secessionists of Kentucky were confident, as 
we have already stated, that they would succeed in 
taking the state out of the Federal Union. If every 
other effort should fail, they supposed that they had 
under their control a military force that would not 
fail to accomplish their purpose by the sword. ^'An 
act was passed by the Legislature creating a volunteer 
force, called the ' State Guard,' which was directed 
to be immediately raised, organized, armed, equipped, 
and drilled, chiefly at the expense of the state ; and, 
in direct violation of the Constitution and every mili- 
tary system on earth, and in total disregard of all 
propriety, and even common sense, under the circum- 
stances that existed, a staff officer of Governor Ma- 
goffin, himself a person not even belonging to the line 
of the army about to be raised, was created com- 
iriander-in-chief in the body of the law itself. This 
person proved to be General S, B. Buckner, who was 
in command of the Confederate army at Fort Donel- 
Bon, and was made a prisoner there along with the 
rebel force under his command. It might as well be 
added that Colonel Roger Hanson, who was captured 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 23 

at the same time along with the bulk of his regiment, 
had been one of the colonels of General Buckner's 
State Guard; that General Tilghman, who was cap- 
tured a few days ♦before, while in command of Fort 
Henry, was another of his colonels ; and that a large 
portion of the whole body has perished, or been cap- 
tured, in the service of the Confederate states. It 
consisted of about five thousand of fine troops, and 
would have risen to five times that number, if a little 
more time could have been gained, or the thoroughly 
disloyal character of the force had been somewhat 
more carefully concealed from the public. YvTien the 
secession conspiracy in Kentucky prematurely broke 
down, this body of troops was transferred, almost 
entire, to the Confederate forces operating against 
the state. It is perfectly well known that the law 
creating this force was passed almost in the very 
moment of the adjournment of the first session of the 
Legislature of 1859-61, by a mere trick of a handful 
of traitors, when not members enough of both houses 
were present at the midnight outrage to have con- 
stituted a legal quorum of either of them. The sum 
of what we have been saying, in its military aspect, 



24 MORoVAi^ AND HIS CAPTORS. 

is this : Thei-e was a secret armed force of eight thou- 
sand trait*- rs in Kentucky, and under General Bick- 
ley, callea Knights of the Golden Circle ; there were 
five thousand well-appointed state troops, called the 
State Guard, commanded by General Buckner, an 
officer of the staff of the Governor ; there was a body 
of secessionists, whose number we have no means 
of ascertaining with certainty, nor the precise nature 
or extent of their organization, amounting to twenty 
thousand men or upward, privately armed, in part 
with state arms and in part with arms furnished to 
them from the rebel states, the whole body capable 
of immediate service as neighborhood squads, and of 
being rapidly gathered in companies and regiments. 
Immediately after the defeat of the Federal army at 
Manassas, in July, 1861, the most excitable and 
organized of this particular force commenced leaving 
Kentucky to join the Confederate army, thus disclos- 
ing its previous condition. So that, at the period of 
darkness and peril now spoken of, there was a mili- 
tary force of between thirty and forty thousand armed 
secessionists in Kentucky in readiness to attempt 
there what they and we knew had been accomplished 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 25 

without difficulty, by similar but far inferior means 
in so many other states." 

THE PRIVATE MEETING OF SECESSION LEADERS. 

The election held during the first week of August, 
1861, demonstrated, beyond all question, that a large 
majority of the people of Kentucky were opposed to 
secession, and in favor of the Union. The secession- 
ists had no other alternative but an abandonment of 
their purposes or an appeal to arms. But their plans 
were not quite perfected; hence the private meeting 
of the principal secessionists of the state to mature 
plans for the subjugation of Union people and the 
transfer of the state to the Confederacy, of which we 
are about to speak. 

The pubhc is indebted for whatever knowledge it 
has of this private meeting of secession leaders to the 
Rev. R. J. Breckinridge, D. D., the uncle of the rebel 
General John C. Breckinridge, late Vice-President of 
the United States. The loyal people, too, of Ken- 
tucky owe to him a debt of gratitude for the influence 
he exerted in saving them from scenes of carnage and 
blood, and in saving the state, at least for the time 



26 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

beiiiT^', from the hands of secessionists that were al- 
ready outstretched to seize the great prize. 

Vie give the account of this private and traitorous 
meeting in the words of him who was in some way, 
we know not precisely how, made acquainted with its 
character and design just in the "nick of time," so 
that measures were promptly set on foot which baffled 
its designs, and finally overthrew the secession con- 
spiracy in Kentucky. 

" On Sunday, the 17th day of August, 1861, a con- 
siderable number of the leading secessionists of Cen- 
tral Kentucky, embracing the principal persons of that 
interest, met, in the county of Scott, at the house of 
a wealthy gentleman, residing in a very accessible but 
not very public place. It may remove some mystery 
concerning the sources of our knowledge of matters it 
was not intended we should know, to say that this de- 
cisive meeting took place in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of the homestead of the writer of these lines; 
and we had as well say at once that we do not feel 
called on to make public, in this manner, either names 
or acts connected with this meeting, except so far as 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 27 

may be required by the duty we have before us. 
Whether the urgency of the occasion obliged the dis- 
tinguished persons who composed the meeting to over- 
come their reluctance to use the Sabbath day for such 
a purpose, or whether the impressions of their pious 
education and lives gave way to the necessity of es- 
caping public observation, there is, perhaps, no great 
need of inquiring. Of course, Major (now General) 
Breckinridge was at the meeting, since its very design 
was to discuss and settle the policy of the party^ and 
to determine its general course and immediate action 
under the great foregone facts which had already given 
a color to its destiny, namely, first, its complete over- 
throw, two weeks before, at the general election, and, 
secondly, its adhesion to the general conspiracy which 
had determined on the conquest of the border slave 
states by arms when all hope of obtaining them by 
other means was lost. It is singularly characteristic 
that, as soon as this party had fully determined that 
there should be no more peace in any of those border 
states, except on conditions which were utterly pre- 
posterous, it assumed throughout those states, and, to a 
certain extent, throughout the loyal states, the nam© 



28 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

of the Peace Party! One would tliink that a state- 
rights party would be dumb under such proofs of the 
sentiments of the state as this party had. One would 
think a Democratic party would promptly acquiesce in 
the public will so clearly and repeatedly declared. 
One wo-uld know very little of ' the great heart ' of 
treason and rebellion who would have such idle 
thoughts. We noiu know that before the election at 
which this party had just been finally overthrown, it 
had been arranged that, if they lost that election, Ken- 
tucky should be invaded ; we know that the Confeder- 
ate Congress had resolved that the state should be 
conquered, if it became necessary ; we know that the 
military jurisdiction of the Confederate Government 
had been extended over the state, and that large sums 
of money had been appropriated to the arming of 
rebels in it. But all these things were carefully con- 
cealed at that time. There was, of course, no debate, 
no conclusion, therefore, in this meeting about any 
peaceful or patriotic submission to an overwhelming 
public sentiment, constitutionally and repeatedly ex- 
pressed. There was, of course, neither debate nor 
conclusion looking toward acceptance of the overtui'es 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 29 

for conciliation with them, made and rcn^.ade over 
and over, and met always with disdain from them. 
What immediately followed this meeting, as its popular 
result, was a crusade upon the stump — innumeraLle 
seditious harangues by many of those at the meeting, 
and m^any others who accepted its conclusions, and by 
some, it is probable, who were kept in the dark as to 
the real objects of the movement. The drift of all 
was that the people had been deceived in the recent 
election, and would be betrayed by their Union Repre- 
sentatives ; that liberty, public and private, was at an 
end, and the State hopelessly lost, unless the broken 
and defeated secession party, instead of the triumph- 
ant Union party, were allowed to explain what the 
people required ; and that all this was so clear, so 
certain, so just, and so indispensable to j^eace, that it 
was impossible for gallant and patriotic men to con- 
tain themselves if any part of it was refused to them. 
In one word, not the elected and sworn Representa- 
tives of the people, convened in the Capital, but the 
Scott meeting, over their Sunday dinner, neither elected 
nor sworn, must decide the fate of the commonwealth, 
or else there should be anarchy. That much was 



30 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

avowed; and what was kept secret— there should be 
invasion and civil war.' They tried it, and they found 
out within about thirty days that there was a Ken- 
tucky independent of them and of their allies. 

" The plan of the conspiracy in Kentucky, as well 
as elsewhere, had far more in view than a mere at- 
tempt at popular commotion. Armed insurrection was 
thought of, invasion, also, by the Confederate forces, 
pubhc and private war, violent proceedings of all sorts. 
Extreme measures, therefore, were to be discussed at 
the Scott meeting ; and extreme courses, considering 
the general nature and objects of the wide conspiracy, 
and the actual posture of affairs, w^ere likely enough 
to be adopted. Of course, therefore, Governor Ma- 
goffin was too important a member of the party to be 
absent from a final consultation on matters of that 
sort. In the consideration and discussion of the whole 
case by the meeting, thre^ plans of action for the 
party were propounded; every one of thtm, however, 
based on the distinct ideas, taken for granted, that the 
nation was broken up, and the government at an end ; 
that the Confederate Government was in full and law- 
ful existence; that Kentucky rightfully belonged to 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 31 

the Confederate States; and that her obstinate refusal 
to take her proper place among those states impose! 

upon the Confederate Government the necessity of 

forcing her to do so, and upon the secession party in 

the state the duty of taking part in her conquest. 

These three plans were in substance as follows : 

" First. The army of General Polk on the Missis- 
sippi, and the army of General Zollicoffer on the Cum- 
berland Mountains, and the armed Kentucky refugees 
in camps along the Tennessee frontier of Kentucky, 
should immediately and simultaneously invade the state 
and begin the war; while that sudden and general in- 
vasion by some sixty thousand troops should be at- 
tended by a simultaneous rising of the secessionists in 
the state, and the commencement by armed bands of 
neighborhood war wherever resistance might be offered 
to them. A diabolical plan— good, in a military point 
of view, if attempted a month earher; when actually 
attempted some weeks afterward, a failure, because, 
being discovered, it was provided for. 

" Secondly, That, before proceeding to the extremi- 
ties of the first plan, Governor Magoffin should issue his 
proclamation, calling upon all true secessionists to rise, 



32 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

organize^ and rendezvous in arms at a time and place 
fixed in his proclamation ; that the secession members 
of the LegieJlature should be required to convene, and 
constitute, at the same place and time, as the Senate 
and House of Representatives of the state; and thus, 
by the joint action of the Governor, the skeleton Legis- 
lature and the armed secessionists, backed by the rebel 
armies and refugee Kentuckians, before spoken of, put 
the state regularly in the Confederacy before conquer- 
ing her, instead of conquering her first. This was the 
plan adopted in Missouri. It was also tried some 
months later in Kentucky, in a small way, when a 
provisional government was set up in Russellville, un- 
der the protection of General Brecki»ridge and his 
brigade of rebel troops. A silly and weak mixture 
of some of the ideas and forms of law, and the 
shadow of civil authority, with rampant treason and 
armed anarchy, which no really great man would even 
think of resorting to in a desperate emergency ! 

" TJihdly. That all the matters proposed in both 
the foregoing plans should be held in suspense a little 
longer, while the arming, organizing, and educating of 
the secession party should be secretly and rapidly car- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS .66 

ried to a higher state of completeness ; that, in the 
mean time, the Governor should send commissioners, 
in the name of the commonwealth of Kentucky, to 
the President of the United States, demanding the dis- 
persion or removal from the state of the troops then 
collecting at Camp Dick Robinson, under General Nel- 
son, or the disavowal of General Nelson and his acts 
by the President; and other commissioners, both to 
Governor Harris, of Tennessee, and to President 
Davis, at Richmond, Vii'ginia, in order to give precise 
information of the position, necessities, and plans of 
the party in Kentucky, to gain precise knowledge of 
the amount and character of the aid they could rely 
on, and to concert the most cordial and complete mu- 
tual understanding. If this plan could have been suc- 
cessfully executed, it would have rendered temporary 
success possible for the second plan, and complete suc- 
,cess possible for the first plan. It was liable, however, 
to the great objection of being nearly incapable of 
execution without being penetrated." 

The third one of the three plans above stated was 
the one adopted by the meeting, and that, too, chiefly 



S4 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

through the influence of Governor Magoffin. Accord- 
ingly, within one week after this secret meeting of 
conspirators, commissioners were sent to Washington 
City to carry out their designs, who bore with thera 
the following letter from Governor Magoffin to Presi 
dent Lincoln. The Governor said : 

" An army is now being organized and quartered in this state, 
supplied with all the appliances of war, without the consent 
or advice of the authorities of the state, and without consulta- 
tion with those most prominently known and recognized as 
loyal citizens. This movement now imperils that peace and 
tranquillity which, from the beginning of our pending difficul- 
ties, have been the paramount desire of this people, and which, 
up to this time, they have so secured to the state. 

"Within Kentucky there has been, and is likely to be, no 
occasion for the presence of military force. The people are 
quiet and tranquil, feeling no apprehension of any occasion 
arising to invoke protection from the Federal arm. They have 
asked that their territory be left free from military occupation, 
and the present tranquillity of their communication left unin- 
vaded by soldiers. They do not desire that Kentucky shall 
be required to supply the battle-field for the contending ar- 
mies, or become the theater of the war. 

" Now, therefore, as Governor of the state of Kentucky, and in 
the name of the people I have the honor to represent, and with 
the single and earnest desire to avert from their peaceful homes 
the horrors of war, I urge the removal from the limits of Ken- 
tucky of the military force now organized and in camp within 
the state. If such action as is hereby urged be promptly 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 35. 

taken, I firmly believe tlie peace of the people of Kentucky 
will be preserved, and the horrors of a bloody war will be 
averted from the people, now peaceful and tranquil." 

Of course, no explanation was made of the real 
origin of this letter, and that it was a part of the 
general plan of the private meeting held in Scott 
County on the 17th of August. Had the President 
granted the request of the Governor, the inevitable 
result would have been that Kentucky would have 
been in the hands of the Confederate army ; and they 
would have planted their bristling cannon all along 
the banks of the Ohio River, controlled the naviga- 
tion of that stream, and would have invaded, in all 
probability, the states north of Kentucky, and might 
have made those states, as was their intention from 
the beginning, the great battle-field for successive 
months. Certainly, it would have been at the ex- 
pense of millions of dollars and thousands of lives 
that they would have been driven back from the banks 
of the Ohio. 

Some person or persons — we do not know precisely 
whom — were careful that the President should know the 
exact origin of the mission sent to Washington. The 



36 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

President's reply to the Governor was timely and to 
the point : 

"In all I have clone in the premises," said the Presiient, 
" I have acted upon the urgent solicitation of many Kentuck- 
ians, and in accordance with vi'liat I believed and still believe 
to be the wish of a majority of ail the Union-loviifg people 
of Kentucky. 

"While I have conversed on this subject with many emi- 
nent men of Kentucky, including a large majority of her 
members of Congress, I do not remember that any one of 
them, or any other person, except your Excellency and the 
bearers of your Excellency's letter, has urged me to remove 
the military force from Kentucky, or to disband it. One other 
very worthy citizen of Kentucky did solicit me to have the 
augmenting of the forces suspended for a time. 

"Taking all the means within my reach to form a judg- 
ment, I do not believe it is the popular wish of Kentucky that 
this force shall be removed beyond her limits; and, with this 
impression, I must respectfully decline to so remove it. 

" I most cordially sympathize with your Excellency in the 
wish to preserve the peace of my own native state, Kentucky, 
It is with regret I search, and can not find, in your not very 
short letter, any declaration or intimation that you entertain 
any desire for the preservation of the Federal Union." 

The force which the Governor desired the Presi- 
dent to remove from the state, but which he wisely 
declined to do, was that located at Camp Dick Rob- 
inson, about thirty miles south of Lexington, and 
under the command of General Nelson. This force 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 37 

consisted of six skeleton regiments — in all about four 
or five thousand men, a majority of whom were Ken- 
tuckians — and two regiments of East Tennesseeans 
who had fled from their homes, families, and property, 
to escape the oppression and tyranny of the Confed- 
erate authorities. They formed themselves into com- 
panies and regiments for the purpose, as they ex- 
pressed it, of ^'fighting their way back to their 
homes." Strange sight ! While these Tennessee 
patriots were fleeing to Kentucky, and enduring in- 
describable hardships — all for the sake of their love 
of liberty and love of country — thousands of deluded 
Kentuckians were following their traitorous leaders 
from their homes into the ranks of the rebel army in 
Tennessee, for the avowed purpose of fighting their 
way back to their homes, to subjugate their native 
state and overthrow the benign government that had 
done nothing to them but crown their li^^^s with 
blessings. 

Besides the force of which we have jusr spoken, 
there was another body of soldiers, and Kentuckians 
chiefly, at Camp Joe Holt, near Jefiersonville, In- 
diana, that numbered in all about seventeen hundred 



38 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

men. They were enlisted tlirougli the exertions of 
Colonel Lovell H. Rousseau and Colonel Curran 
Pope. The former of these Colonels is now a Major- 
General in the United States Army ; and well~doea 
he deserve the honor. He has shown himself, in the 
many battles in which he has taken part, to be a skill- 
ful and courageous General. But the most courageous 
act of his life was that of raising, at the time and 
under the circumstances, the body of troops of which 
we have just spoken. It is well known that, when 
he first commenced raising volunteers in Louisville, 
Kentucky, he was watched and followed by men 
who were seeking to assassinate him. No doubt but 
that General Rousseau would brave the dangers of 
the fiercest battle rather than brave again what he 
did in raising this force. Colonel Pope, too, deserves 
great honor. He was a graduate of West Point, a 
Christian gentleman, and a brave soldier. He fell at 
the battle of Perryville while leading on his regiment 
into the thickest of the fight. 

In addition to these forces, there were, probably, 
as many as four or five regiments of Home Guards, 
that could be made eiFective in a great emergency. 



^ MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 39 

These were all the forces that could be relied on 
to defend Kentucky in the great crisis that was upon 
her. 

While such was the situation, there were fifty or 
frxXty thousand Confederate troops hovering on the 
border of the state, who were ready, when the word 
was given by the leading conspirators within the 
state, to sweep over it like a tornado. The time 
was set when the grand and bloody drama was to 
commence. All this, however, the secessionists 
thought, was a profound secret. Many of the loyal 
people of the state suspected that the Confederate 
soldiers in Tennessee would invade the state; but 
few, however, believed that there was a deep-laid 
plot for a simultaneous uprising of secessionists in 
their very midst to scatter, capture, or kill the mem- 
bers of the loyal Legislature which was to meet on 
the 2d day of September, 1861, and, to break down 
all opposition to their purpose, to seize the state, by 
fire and sword, if necessary. 

But the plot, at least in part, had been discovered, 
and was known to those who were best able tG pro- 
vide for its defeat. 



40 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

About this time an event occurred which opened 
the eyes of many of the loyal people of the State as 
to the real intentions of the secessionists. 

The force at Camp Dick Robinson was without 
arms, except a poor supply of shot-guns and Ken- 
tucky rifles. It was all-important that they should be 
armed without delay. The fate of Kentucky and a 
great interest of the General Government depended 
on the success of the attempt to arm this force. 
Application was made for arms and munitions of war 
to the proper authorities at Washington, through Gen- 
eral Nelson, and by those who saw the critical con- 
dition of affairs. The government authorities imme- 
diately shipped, for the use of the soldiers at Camp 
Dick Robinson, as many as eight thousand stand of 
arms, several cannons, and other munitions. After 
the safe arrival of the arms at Cincinnati, they were 
shipped on the railroad at Covington and started 
forward toward Lexington. The train of cars was 
stopped at Cynthiana, and searched by a committee 
of secessionists. The guns were not captured, for 
the reason that the movement of the Vigilance Com- 
mittee had been anticipated, and the arms were sent 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 41 

back to Cincinnati, to prevent capture. The Commit- 
tee gave notice to the principal owner of the road 
that it would be destroyed if it was used to transport 
arms into Kentucky. The arms were then shipped 
to Louisville for the purpose of being forwarded over 
the railroad from that city to Lexington. This move- 
ment was made with dexterity and secrecy. The 
secessionists, through spies, discovered the plan, and 
at once made arrangements to capture the arms* 
They made arrangements to tear up the railroad-track 
near Louisville, then placed bands of men at different 
depots along the road, armed with concealed weapons. 
Captain John Morgan, now General Morgan, com- 
manded the force at Lexington that was to seize the 
arms, if by any means they should reach that place. 
Says the writer to whom we are so largely indebted 
for much that is said in this chapter : " The plan 
was a good one, and in skillful hands, and its success 
might have had a terrible, if not fatal, effect. But 
it failed, as we might say, by a series of accidents, 
or, as was really the case, by extreme vigilance and 
extreme promptitude in understanding and using small 
but significant circumstances. There were two tele- 



42 MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

graphic instruments in Lexington connected with the 
wires to Louisville — one at the depot, one at the main 
office — capable of being used together, or separately. 
The communication with the main one was found to 
have been intentionally cut off. Investigation fol- 
lowed, and immediately revealed the cause and the 
object, and the remedy. The result was that things 
were put right, and the arms were suddenly and 
quietly started from Louisville several hours in ad- 
vance of previous arrangements ; and so their safe 
passage was secured at every point of danger. What 
remained was to protect them after they arrived. This 
was thought to be adequately provided for by arrange- 
ments for the assembling of the Home Guards of the 
city in arms at the depot, on an agreed signal from 
their commander, the late distinguished Dr. E. L. 
Dudley, who has since died in the army while serving 
as a Colonel of a regiment of Kentucky Volunteers. 
But this was somewhat changed in the following man- 
ner : A gentleman accidentally overheard a conversa- 
tion between some secessionists, the purport of which 
was that no arms should leave the city for Union 
men. Very soon this fact was made known to Colone] 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 43 

Dudley, who, prudent as he was brave, thouglit it his 
duty to display such a force as would overavfe oppo- 
sition. He therefore immediately dispatched messen- 
gers to Camp Dick Robinson, and the next day Colonel 
Bramlette, of the Third Kentucky Regiment, arrived 
at the Lexington depot at the head of several hundred 
cavalry, nearly simultaneously with the arrival of the 
train of cars with the arms. By this time the city 
was greatly excited, and the streets full of people.^' 
Then followed the strange scene described in the first 
part of this chapter. 

" Major Breckinridge, fully aware of the bearing of the 
affair, whose crisis was now reached, upon the whole plan of 
the conspiracy of the 17th of August, is said to have declared 
that he would drive Bramlette's force from the city, if fifty 
resolute men would follow him ; whereupon a force of between 
one and two hundred armed secessionists was immediately 
collected, by sound of bugle, at the armory of Captain John 
Morgan's rifle company. And this gathering was immediately 
followed by the assembling, by sound of a bell at the depot, 
of between three and four hundred armed Home Guards. The 
united forces of Bramlette and Dudley rendered opposition 
fruitless on the part of the inferior force of secesaiorists ; and 
Major (now General) Breckinridge then spoke to the assem- 
bled secessionists, exhorting them to abstain from any act of 
violence, and thereby show what should be considered an act 
of unexampled forbearance. The arms were carried safely to 
Camp Dick Robinson, and put immediately in tlie hands of 
4 



44 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS, 

loyal troops — among the rest^ the Kentucky regiments of 
Bramlette, Fry, Wolford, and Garrard, and the Tennessee regi- 
ments of Carter and Byrd. In the latter part of October fol- 
lowing, many of them did good service in the victory of Wild- 
cat over ZollicofFer's army, and still more of them in the rout 
of the still larger force of Crittenden and ZollicofFer, at Logan's 
Field and Mill Springs, on the 19th of January, 1862. It was 
the possession of these arms by the small force under Nelson 
that made possible the movement which broke the conspiracy 
in Kentucky to pieces." 

We can not stop here to speak of the meeting of 
loyal citizens at Camp Dick Robinson, by invitation 
of General Nelson, to consult with him on the critical 
condition of affairs, or the immediate results of that 
meeting in overthrowing the great conspiracy which 
was to be carried into execution about the 5th of Sep- 
tember, while the rebel army was invading the state. 

The conspiracy was overthrown; the leaders of it, 
with a few exceptions, fled the state. John Morgan 
fled with them, to make frequent returns to desolate 
his native state by bands of guerrillas under his com- 
mand. In view of the departure of the conspirators, 
every loyal tongue was ready to cry out, as Cicero 
did to Catiline, ""Patent portce: profieiscere, Edue 
tecum etiam omnes tuos!'' 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 45 

Hencefortli the struggle between Esau and Jacob 
was not to be in the womb of the common mother, 
but upon an open and fan- field, and face to face. 

We have thus introduced General Morgan to our 
readers as the ofi'spring of a great conspiracy. And 
it is our opinion that in all that he did in aiding 
others to carry out their plot, he was sinned against 
as much as he sinned. 



46 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 



CHAPTER II. 

morgan's nativity— personal appearance and chaeacteh— defeats ah 
enemy and makes a capture without the use of sword or saber — hi8 
marriage — brief account of battles, raids, skirmishes, etc., in ken- 
tucky — design of his raids — incidents — a sympathizing parson. 

GENERAL MORGAN is said to be a lineal de- 
scendant of Morgan of Revolutionary fame. He 
is the oldest of six brothers, all of whom were born 
and educated near the city of Lexington, Kentucky. 
He is unusually commanding in his personal ap- 
pearance, and is about six feet in hight, and weighs 
one hundred and eighty pounds ; has a broad, high 
forehead and bold countenance. 

As to his character, it is but just to say that, pre- 
vious to the commencement of the rebellion, he was 
considered by the citizens of Lexington as a man of 
integrity in all his business relations. In the estima- 
tion of the public he maintained a good character. 
At the commencement of our present war he was en- 
gaged in manufacturing woolen goods in Lexington. 
Soon after open hostilities commenced, he was arrested 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS, 47 

near the town of Harrodsburg for attempting to send 
two wagon-loads of goods to liis friends in Dixie. 

Morgan is a universal favorite among the secession 
cliivalrj, and especially with female secessionists. In 
every raid that he has made through Kentucky, he 
has been welcomed, fed, honored, and cheered by 
women. On some occasions, addresses of a highly 
eulogistic character have been made to him by women 
of Kentucky. But let no one conclude that they who 
have thus acted are the only representatives of that 
noble old state among her women. Truer and more 
loyal hearts are not to be found any-where in this 
broad land than among the loyal women of Kentucky. 
Elustrative of this statement the following incident is 
given, upon the personal knowledge of the author : 
There was a period, during the early stages of the 
rebellion, and in many localities in Kentucky, when 
and where it was extremely hazardous to give even an 
expression of love to the Union or the dear old flag of 
our country. Such was the condition of affairs at 
one time ii^ the town of Owensboro. During this 
time, an old lady of that place, more than sixty-five 
years of age, made a flag with her own hands, cov- 



48 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ered it with Stars and Stripes, and flung it to the 
breeze from the top of her humble house. She was 
warned by friends to take down the flag, and \aolence 
was threatened by the enemies of the government. 
In every instance she replied : '' That flag shall stay 
there as long as a shingle of my house is left." When 
Colonel (now General) Burbridge landed at that town 
with his regiment, and it was made known to his men 
that this was the only Union flag in the place, it was 
sent for, and then run up to the top of the steeple on 
the court-house, and above the flag of the regiment, 
where it floated until it was blown away by the winds 
of heaven. 

The author might yield to what may be considered 
the dictate of modesty, and suppress the name of this 
venerable lady; but filial duty and aff'ection forbid. 
Her name is Elizabeth De La Hunt — my mother. It 
could scarcely be expected that one through whose 
veins flows the blood of the immortal Huguenots 
would be an enemy of freedom or of the flag of this, 
the freest of governments. , 

Thus, while many of the women of Kentucky have 
encouraged secession and secessionists, not a few 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 49 

have opposed both firmly and persistently, and in 
the midst of great peril. 

Here we will introduce an incident connected with 
the life of General Morgan which borders almost on 
the romantic. 

In the year 1842, the author of this book became 
acquainted with a young man and fellow-student, of 
Hanover College, who was unusually prepossessing in 
his personal appearance. He was tall, rather slen- 
der, and beardless, and his head was covered with a 
beautiful suit of hair. He was graceful in all his 
movements. He was considered a respectable student 
in every way, but not remarkable as a superior 
scholar, or as a young man of more than ordinary 
intellect. He was greatly admired by the young 
ladies of that classic village. Whether any of them 
ever made any deep impressions on his young heart 
or not is, probably, known to himself only. His ac- 
tions sometimes were rather indicative of an intention, 
on his part, to spend his days as a respectable old 
bachelor. Indeed, he sometimes intimated that his 
heart was impervious to the darts of Cupid. 

He was graduated. After he passed through the 



50 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

gates of his academic retreat he was soon lost sight 
of in the throng of this great and busy world. Years 
passed by, and it was scarcely known to his asso- 
ciates and admirers, in his college days, whether he 
-s^as dead or alive. At length a journal of Washing- 
ton City announced his name as a Congressman from 
one of the states in the far West. 

When he took his seat in Congress he was one of 
the youngest members of that body, and was still 
prepossessing in his personal appearance. While at 
Washington City he formed the acquaintance of a 
young lady, the daughter of a Congressman from Ten- 
nessee. It is said that this young lady was beautiful 
and attractive. The young Congressman, although 
he had formed the resolution to be a bachelor, could 
not resist her charms. Unwittingly she had won his 
heart, and he resolved to offer to her his hand. " The 
course of true love," it is said, "is never smooth." 
Before the young Congressman made known his in- 
tentions the war broke out, and, suddenly, this young 
lady and her father disappeared from Washington 
City, and were soon at their home, in Murfreesboro, 
Tenn., withm the rebel lines. The young Congress- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 51 

man resolved to visit that place. A wall of bayonets 
was between him and the object of his love. H.vy 
could he accomplish his purpose ? He resolved, as 
the only means of success, to march with the Army 
of the Cumberland. He applied for an appointment 
in the army, and was placed on the staff of a Major- 
General of that army. 

"In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed; 
In war, he mounts the warrior's steed." 

This untried warrior was in the awful battle of 
Stone River, and acted well his part. His anxiety 
to capture Murfreesboro, from patriotic and other 
motives, could only be expressed, as he did it with a 
good-will after the capture was announced, by huzza 
after huzza. 

He entered the little city of Murfreesboro with our 

proud and triumphant army, to learn the startling fact 

that General Morgan, without the use of sword or 

uaber, had defeated his hopes, and captured the heart 

and hand of her for whose sake, in part, he had 

mounted the warrior's steed. 

The lady referred to was Miss Keady, the daugh- 
5 



52 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ter of Hon. Mr. Ready, an ex-Congressman of Ten- 
nessee, and now the wife of General Morgan. Even 
before her marriage she was devoted to the cause of 
the rebellion, and on one occasion presented a flag 
t:: one of the Tennessee rebel regiments, and accom- 
panied it with a speech. That flag was afterward 
captured by an Illinois regiment at the battle of Fort 
Donelson, and is now at the Capital of the state of 
Illinois among the trophies of war. 

Morgan was first married to the accomplished Miss 
Rebecca Bruce soon after his return from the Mex- 
ican war. After years of sufi*ering from sickness, she 
died about the commencement of the present war, 
and was thus taken from the trouble to come. How 
painful it must have been to her, had she lived, to 
have followed the fortune of her husband, in opposi- 
tion to her brothers, all of whom are sterling patriots? 



morgan's BATTLES, RAIDS, AND SKIRMISHES IN KEN- 
TUCKY. 

We will now^ give to the reader an account of some 
of Morgan's raids, skirmishes, and battles in Ken- 
tucky. It will be remembered that in the month of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 53 

September, 1861, Morgan left his home in Lexington, 
Kentucky, and went within the rebel lines, where he 
acted for a short time as Captain of a company, com- 
posed chiefly of Kentuckians, 

On the 30th of January, 1862, Captain Morgan 
captured six Union men at a church near Lebanon, 
Kentucky. He set fire to the building, and it is said 
that he attempted to burn one of the men with it, 
but the man managed to make his escape. Two com- 
panies of the First Ohio Cavalry were sent in pursuit 
of Morgan, but were unable to overtake him. 

One hundred and forty of Morgan's guerrilla cav- 
alry, on the 11th day of May, 1862, suddenly ap- 
peared on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, at 
Cave City, in Kentucky, and captured forty-eight 
freight and two passenger-cars. They destroyed the 
train. Their first object was to recapture some two 
hundred and eighty rebel prisoners, and, of course, to 
destroy the government means of transportation. In 
their first object they were disappointed, for the pris- 
oners had been removed from the cars at Bowhng 
Green. 

The first formidable raid of Morgan into Ken- 



54 MORGAN AND HIS CaPTORS. 

tuckj was made in the month of July, 18G2. He 
left Knoxville, in East Tennessee, on the 4th of the 
month with a force of twelve hundred men, according 
to his own statement, to which others were added 
after he entered Kentucky. On the 9th of July he 
encountered a small Union force, numbering two 
hundred and fifty men of the Third Battalion of 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, under command of Major Jor- 
dan. This small force was routed, with a loss of four 
killed, six wounded, and nineteen taken prisoners. 

On the following day Morgan issued the following 
proclamation to the people of Kentucky. 

"Kentuckians! I come to liberate you from, the despotism 
of tyrannical fanaticism, and to rescue my native State from 
the hands of your oppressors. Every-where the cowardly foes 
liave fled from my avenging arms. My brave army is stigma- 
tized as a band of guerrillas and marauders. Believe it not. 
I point with pride to their deeds as a refutation of this foul 
assertion. 

"We come not to molest peaceable individuals, nor to de- 
stroy private property, but to guarantee absolute protection to 
all who are not in arms against us. We ask only to meet 
the hireling legions of Lincoln The eyes of your brothers of 
the South are upon you. ^our gallant fellow-citizen <* are 
flocking to our standard. Our armies are rapidly advancing 
to your protection. Then greet them with the willing hands 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 55 

of fifty thousand of Kentu sky's bravest sons. Their advance 
is already with you. Then, 

" * Strike for your aUars and your fires ! 
Strike for the green graves of your aires . 
God and your native land ! ' " 

Hundreds of deluded young men entered the ranks 
of Morgan, and thus greatly increased his force. 

On the 12th of the month Morgan defeated a small 
force of soldiers under command of Colonel Johnston, 
at Lebanon, and captured the town. 

A correspondent of the Louisville Journal gives 
the following interesting account of this affair : 

''On Friday, the 12th, it was reported here [at Lebanon] 
that General Morgan had attacked and routed the Federal 
forces in Southern Kentucky, and that he was making his way 
to Lexington through Lebanon. Shortly after, a dispatch of 
this character was received: it was currently and correctly re- 
ported that the General, with a large force, was about twenty 
rniles south-west of Lebanon, near the little town of Pinch'em, 
and that he would take Lebanon that (Friday) night. 

" Lieutenant-Colonel A. Y. Johnston, in command at Leba- 
non, immediately sent runners to the Home Guards to hold 
themselves in readiness tor any emergency, and prepared 
Captaii Earth's company, under Captain Earth's immediate 
charge, for offensive operations. Late in the evening, ten or 
twelve soldiers, members of Captain Earth's company, the 
Twenty-e'ghth Kentucky, were sent to Newmarket, distant six 



56 MOKGAN ANB HIS CAPTORS. 

miles from Lebanon, to guard the bridge across Rolling Fork 
at that point. The men were under charge of First Lieuten- 
ant Catlin, and were joined by some fifteen Home Guards. 
Night came, and reinforcements were axiously looked for from 
Louisville and other points. It was known that Morgan's 
force was large and in good fighting trim. The Lebanon 
Home Guards, Captain Merrimee, met and sent pickets out on 
the roads leading into Lebanon. The entire force under Col- 
onel Johnston, at half-past ten o'clock, was nearly forty sol- 
diers and forty Home Guards — in all eighty men. 

"At half-past eleven, as near as I can guess, news came that 
Morgan had reached Newmarket bridge, and that the guard 
there had fired on the enemy, driving them back. Colonel 
Johnston ordered a soldier and Mr. Hastings, with Lieutenant 
Fidler, who had volunteered aa aid to Colonel Johnston, to go 
to Newmarket and see what was being done, and report imme- 
diately. These gentlemen hurried forward, and, on going up 
a hill near Newmarket, suddenly met the advance of Mor- 
gan's brigade, were ordered to halt, and, upon failure to do this, 
were fired upon. Some twenty shots were fired, but fortu- 
nately neither of the gentlemen were injured. Lieutenant 
Fidler, being on a slow horse, was taken prisoner, and his horse, 
saddle, and bridle, with a splendid navy-pistol, were taken 
from him. Hastings reported to the ofiScer in command that 
Morgan was advancing with overwhelming numbers. The 
Lieutenant-Colonel gave orders for no firing to be done if the 
enemy were so much our superior in numbers. When Mor- 
gan's advance reached our pickets, it was fired on, and imme- 
diately a sharp little skirmish began, which the whole body 
of soldiers soon participated in, the pickets having been com- 
pelled to fall back on the main body. Our soldiers soon fied 
in every direction before overwhei aiing numbers. Whether 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 57 

the enemy suffered any los8 except several wounded is not 
known. The men killed on our side were Moses Rickets, an 
excellent citizen, honest, upright, well thought of by every 
one — indeed, one of Lebanon's best citizens — and Mr. Dyke, 
a peaceable, quiet, kind, upright, respectable man. Lebanon 
laments their loss very much. How terrible is war — the des- 
olator of homes and the great enemy of happiness ! 

" Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston and eighteen privates of the 
Twenty-eighth Kentucky were taken prisoners, and some eight or 
nine citizens connected with the Home Guards. Morgan took 
possession of Lebanon, which he found almost depopulated, the 
citizens having fled to the country for protection. He gave 
orders that private property should be respected, and threat- 
ened any one with death who should disobey orders. His 
men quartered themselves where they best liked, ate when 
they pleased, and fed their horses on the grain of all. They 
were not guilty of proffering pay for any thing, except they 
offered to pay in Confederate scrip when there was a possi- 
bility of getting good money in change. 

"When day came, Morgan proclaimed that he was going 
to divide the United States commissary stores captured, among 
the poor of the town, and destroy only the ordnance in store. 
But when he promised this, he is suspected of having told 
a big, degenerated Englishman, named Colonel St. Leger 
Grenville — the same immaculate personage who desired to 
hang all Unionists — to burn down the commodious depot 
here, and set on fire our court-house, insuring the destruction 
of the town — to burn down the depots for the United Statea 
goods. Only prominent rebels v/ere so fortunate as to get any 
of the spoils. Our soldiers are compelling these fellows to 
disgorge. In the government depots were sugar, coffee, flour, 
bread, etc, and the destruction was immense; gvns were ber.t 



58 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOKS. 

double by hard licks ovo-' rocks — powder, cartridges, and caps 
were thrown into the creek. It is estimated that the govern- 
ment lost near one hundred thousand dollars, perhaps more. 
The commodious hospital near town, with sick soldiers' cloth- 
ing, was burned to the ground, and the sick turned out of 
doors. Fortunately, their number was few. The wagon-yard, 
wagons, and ambulances were destroyed. 

" Morgan took possession of the town near three o'clock in 
the morning. He was detained at Newmarket bridge nearly 
two hours by thirty men, and failed to force his way across 
the bridge until he brought his artillery to bear upon it. Dur- 
ing the engagement he got two bullet-holes through the top of 
his hat. He awarded great praise to Lieutenant Catlin and 
men for their daring and accuracy in shooting. The Lieu- 
tenant and men made good their escape, and lay out in the 
woods until Sunday last. 

"When Morgan took possession of Lebanon he declared 
that he would respect private property; but his men failed 
to do it, and he failed to make them do it when his attention 
was called to their misdemeanors. The soldiers stole horses 
by the wholesale. It is a low estimate to say that Marion 
County had two hundred and fifty horses stolen. They wanted 
shoes, and they took one hundred and fifty dollars' worth from 
Edmonds & Brother. Indeed, whenever they wanted any thing 
they went and took it. They took the express-wagon, and 
pressed Uncle Ben Spaulding's buggy into service. Indeed, 
they did any thing but respect private property. His men 
were respectful to ladies, and not generally insulting to citizens. 
They seemed to be of that class to which we apply the term 
* sporting gentlemen ' 

" Morgan at first refused to parole the citizen and Home 
Guard prisoners, denouncing them as guerrillas, and deserving 
death. A bright idea, that Home Guards, regularly author- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 59 

ized by law, meeting for the defense of their homes, are guer- 
rillas! He was particularly tight on Lieutenant I. M. Fidler, 
telling him he ought to be shot, and threatening to carry him 
olF to be tried by a drum-head court-martial. He released him 
only on the personal application of the Southern Rights men 
of the town. The privates insisted on shooting Fidler. He 
eays he feared them while in their charge. 

" Morgan himself severely misused Mr. Hastings after he 
captured him, sticking his spear into him in half a dozen 
places, from the effect of which he was a long time recovering. 
Morgan afterward begged his pardon for it. 

" While the majority of the gang were as kind as could be 
expected, and conversed freely with the citizens, without in- 
sulting them, treating the prisoners very properly, yet many 
were ruffians of the lowest cast, deserving to be hung as high 
as Haman. They (the ruffians) cared neither for feelings, per- 
son, or property — gloried in insulting defenseless old men and 
in stealing horses. All of the men had the most implicit con- 
fidence in Morgan. He does not appear to care much for 
discipline, permitting his men to go as they please. The men 
had no general uniform, and were armed to suit their own 
taste. They all had Adams's patent six-shooters, an English 
pistol, received, they said, from England a short time since. 
Many of them had shot-guns; a few only had sabers, or bay- 
onets. They left manj^ of their guns here, and took United 
States guns with them. They had two pieces of artillery. 

" The raid was made as much for recruiting purposes as 
for any thing else. They expected the whole country to rally 
to their standard. They only got one recruit from Lebanon." 

They chased the writer of this letter a great dis- 
tance, but failed to catch him. 



60 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

By this time great excitement spread among the 
to^vns and cities of Central Kentucky, in anticipation 
of a raid from Morgan and his men. In order to 
prepare for and repel the marauders, General Boyle, 
commanding the Union forces at Louisville, issued, on 
the 13th of the month, the following order : 

" It is ordered that every able-bodied man take arms and 
aid in repelling the marauders. Every man who does not join 
will remain in his house forty-eight hours, or be shot down if 
he leaves it." ^ 

General "VYard, commanding at Lexington, issued an 
order directing that "all able-bodied citizens of Lex- 
ington and Fayette County vfere to report themselves 
at the court-house square in Lexington forthwith. 
Those having arms will bring them ; those having 
none will be armed." 

On the 14th inst. a band of Morgan's men destroyed 
the long bridge on the Kentucky Central Railroad, be- 
tween Cynthiana and Paris. 

On the 15th inst. Morgan passed through Midway, 
on the Louisville and Lexington Railroad, cut the tele- 
graph wire and tore up the track of the railroad. Ho 
took away with him every thing that he could convert 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 61 

to his use. The evening of the same day he was 
encamped on the farm of a Mr. Gano, near George- 
town. 

Colonel Morgan, with his entire force, marched, on 
the 17th of Jul}", against the Federal forces at Cjn- 
thiana, Kentucky, on the Central Railroad. After a 
severe engagement, the Federals were defeated and 
the town captured. 

We will here subjoin several extracts from official 
reports, w^hich will give to the reader a clear under- 
standing of this fight : 

"Head-quarters, Cyxthiana, Ky., ) 
"Jw7y 24, 1862. j 

"Captain John Boyle, Assistant Adjutant- General for the District 
of Kentucky^ Louisville: 

"On Thursday, the 17th inst, about three o'clock P. M., I 
was attacked at this place by the forces under command of 
Colonel John H. Morgan, comprising three regiments, com- 
posed of Kentuckians, Tennesseeans, Georgians, Mississippi- 
ans, Texans, and South Carolinians, estimated, variously, at 
from fifteen hundred to three thousand men; reported by Cap- 
tain Austin, his Adjutant-General, at twenty-two hundred 
strong and two pieces of artillery. 

" The force under my command was composed of about fifteen 
men of the Eighteenth Kentucky Volunteers, and the following 
Home Guards: about sixty men, under Captain J. B. McClin- 
tock, and from fifty to sixty men, under Captain Lafe Wilson, 
from Cynthiana and vicinity ; Captain John S. Arthur, of 



62 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Newport, fifty men; Captain J. J. Wright, of Cincinnati, forty 
men ; Captain Pepper, of Bracken County, tliirty-five men ; sev- 
enty-five men of the Seventh Kentucky Cavalry, (raw recruits), 
under Major Wm. 0. Smith; and one brass twelve-pounder 
and a small artillery squad, under Captain W. H. Glass, of 
Cincinnati, amounting in the aggregate to about three hund- 
red and forty men, the majority of them poorly armed, and 
nearly all totally undisciplined. After my pickets were driven 
in, and before I had time to dispose my little force, the enemy 
commenced shelling the town, without notice to me to remove 
the women and children. I immediately ordered Captain Glass 
to occupy the public square with his artillery, from which 
point he could command most of the roads entering the town, 
and Captain Arthur's company to support it. I also, at the 
same time, directed a portion of my force to take position on 
the Magee Hill road, south of the town, and, soon hearing 
considerable firing in that quarter, presumed they were ap- 
proaching in that direction in heavy force. 

" I then posted a portion of my force on the river bank, on 
the west side of the town, near the Licking Bridge, from which 
direction Morgan's main force seemed to be approaching, with 
instructions to hold the bridge at all hazards. At this time I 
ordered Captain Glass to put his piece in position, so as to 
command Morgan's battery, and, if possible, to silence it, 
which was done at the second discharge. I then discovered 
that the town was circumvented, and we were completely sur- 
rounded by a superior force, the enemy approaching by every 
road, street, and by-path, and deployed as skirmishers through 
every field, completely encircling us. I ordered Captain Glasi? 
to put his gun in position to command the Millersburg road, 
and give the enemy grape and canister, which was done with 
good effect. By this time my little band was engaged at every 
point The fighting on both sides was terrific The enemy 



MORGAN AXD HIS CAPTORS. 63 

having possession of the streets, were pouring a galling fire 
upon us from the shelter of houses, fences, etc. ; and the artil- 
lery squad, being subject to a cross-fire, were compelled to 
abandon their piece. 

" My men at the bridge were, after a most desperate conflict, 
driven back by very superior numbers, and a cavalry charge 
made through the streets by Morgan's forces. At this time I 
rallied part of my forces at the railroad depot, at which point 
our boys gave them a warm reception, emptying several sad- 
dles. I then again went for the purpose of rallying the artillery 
squad, so as to place it on the hill, near the residence of M. L. 
Broadwell, from which position we could have commanded the 
town and several roads leading to it, but was unable to find 
either men or gun, the streets in every direction being in pos- 
session of the rebels. My men were exhausted and out of 
ammunition; but I rallied them, and at the depot distributed 
it to them. The firing at the time having nearly ceased, I rode 
along the railroad to Kankin's Hotel, to ascertain what posi- 
tion the enemy were taking, and from what direction they were 
coming in heaviest force. Here I met an officer of the rebei 
band, Aid to Colonel Morgan, (a son of the late Beverly L. 
Clark), who demanded my surrender. I replied, ' I never sur- 
render!' and instantly discharged three shots at him, two of 
which took effect in his breast. 

" He fell from his horse, and I thought him dead, but he 
is still living, and will probably recover, notwithstanding two 
balls passed through his body. Captain Rogers also dis- 
charged a shot at him, which took effect. I then rallied part 
of my force, about forty in number, and determined to make 
a charge upon the enemy at the Licking bridge, and take 
their battery, which had been brought to that point and was 
being used with fatal effect upon my little band of patriot 
heroes. The force sustaining their artillery outnumbered oura 



64 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

more than ten to one, and were all the while under cover 
of houses. Besides this, a force of the rebels, at least three 
hundred strong, were pouring an incessant and deadly fire upon, 
my little band from the rear, about a hundred and twenty-five 
yaids distant. 

" It was here that Jacob Carver, Company E, Eighteenth 
Kentucky, fell, severely wounded — as brave a man as ever 
pulled trigger — and I received a slight wound in the ankle. It 
was here, too, that the lamented Thomas Ware, United States 
Commissioner for this county, one of the oldest citizens of 
Cynthiana, was instantly killed, nobly and bravely doing his 
dutyas a patriot. Here, too, were killed Jesse Current, young 
Thomas Rankin, Captain Lafe Wilson, young Hartburn, of 
Cincinnati, and many others, including F. L. St. Thomas, 
John Scott, Captain McClintock, John McClintock, Thomas 
Barry of Cincinnati, and Thomas J. Vimont, who fell severely 
wounded. In consequence of the terrific storm of balls, and 
but few of my men being left, among whom were William 
W. Trimble and J. S Frizell of this place, who was also 
wounded, and others not remembered, I ordered a retreat. 

"In the mean time Major William 0. Smith had command 
of the Seventh Kentucky Cavalry, and was posted north of 
the town to hold the Claysville road, and prevent the enemy 
from gaining the streets from that direction, where he made a 
gallant resistance near the Episcopal Church, until overpow- 
ered by superior numbers and forced to fall back toward the 
Eeformed Church, and thence to the court-house, where he 
and his command were compelled to surrender. At this time 
more than three-fourths of my men were killed, wounded, and 
prisoners, and I determined to cut my way through the enemy 
and escape with the remainder, if possible. I rallied together 
from twenty to twenty-five of my men at the depot, and started 
in a south-east direction, through Redman's pasture, where 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 65 

we met a body of the enemy wlio had crossed from the Mil- 
lersburg road. They were secreted behind fences, trees, and 
aaycocks. We at once engaged them and soon routed them. 
Upon turning around, I discovered that the enemy had pur- 
sued us from town, and were on our rear, not more than forty 
paces distant. I ordered my handful of men to cross the hill- 
sides and tight them from behind the fences, which they did, 
and held them in check until nearly surrounded by a body of 
cavalry, at least ten times their number. I then ordered my 
men to retreat beyond a fence in a south-easterly direction, to 
avoid a cavalry charge. Here part of the men became ex- 
hausted, some falling by the wayside to await their fate, their 
ammunition all expended, when I informed the little Spartan 
band we could do no more, to save themselves, and I would 
do likewise, if possible, and bade them good-by. 

"Each and every man of this noble little squad fought with 
desperation and the coolness of veterans. Among them were 
James F. Ware, John R. Smith, William Kimbrough, Lieu- 
tenant William L. Dayton, Company I, Eighteenth Kentucky, 
Albert Eos-ser of the same company. Captain J. J. Wright of 
Cincinnati, and others, not now remembered, to any of whom 
too much praise can not be awarded. Captain Lafe Wilson 
fell near the depot and continued to discharge his revolver aa 
long as life lasted. His last words were : '■Never surrender^ 
boys ! ' 

" Captain J. B. McClintock fell, severely wounded, while urg- 
ing his men to the charge. Captain S. G-. Rogers, Company 
I, Eighteenth Kentucky, was wounded while gallantly resist- 
ing the foe. I can not particularize further; it is enough to 
say that all my men fought like heroes and veterans in the 
face of a greatly superior force, as evidenced by the slaughter 
that ensued, having held the enemy in check for nearly three 
hours, from a most galling fire, which was joured in upon ua 



66 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

from every side. I think it beyond doubt 6,ne of the most 
sanguinary conflicts of the war, considering the numbers en- 
gaged. 

" llev. George Morrison, of this place, rendered me very im- 
portant service, before and after the engagement, in conveying 
orders to the ditierent commands under me. 

•' It is quite difficult to ascertain the number killed and 
wounded on their side, as the enemy had possession of the 
field, and our men all being prisoners, had no opportunity to 
make examination, until paroled, at which time the enemy 
had buried their dead and sent off most of their wounded. 

" I herewith append a list of Federals killed and wounded, 
furnished me by Dr. W. T, McNees, Assistant Surgeon of the 
Seventh Kentucky Cavalry. 

" Killed. — Thomas Ware, U. S. Commissioner, Cynthiana 
Home Guards; Thomas Eankin, Harrison County Home 
Guards ; Captain Lafe Wilson, do. ; Jesse Current, do. ; William 
Robinson, do.; Nathan Kennedy, Home Guards; James At- 
chison, do. ; Simpson Eaton, do. ; William Stewart, do. ; La- 
fayette Reading, Co. E, 18th Kentucky Volunteers ; William 
Preston, Co., I, do.; John Crawford, 7th Kentucky Cavalry; 
Jerry Lawson, do. ; Samuel Plunkett, do. ; Lewis Wolff", New- 
port, Kentucky, Home Guards ; William S. Shipman, do. , 
Thomas Hartburn, Cincinnati, Pendleton Guards. 

" Wounded. — Captain S. G. Rogers, Co. I, 18th Kentucky 
tilightly; Thos. S. Larval, Home Guards, arm amputated; 
Hector Reed, Home Guards, left side; J. W. Minor, 7th Ken- 
tucky Cavalry, left lung; Jacob Carver, Co. E, 18th Ken- 
tucky, thigh amputated; Jno. Scott, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, 
thigh; Chas. Tait, 34th Ohio, both thighs; Rev. Geo. Mor- 
rison, Home Guards, ankle, slight; Wm. Sanders, Newport 
Home Guards, right thii-h; James Little, 7th Kentucky Cav- 
alry, right lung; Christian Ledven, Home Guards, shoulder 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 67 

and ankle; "Wm. J. Hill, Home Guards, right tliigli; A. J. 
Powers, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, right leg; Eobt. Eosc, 7th 
Kentucky Cavalry, left hip; M. W. Rankin, Home Guards, 
chest — since dead; Jno. W. Adams, Home Guards, left side; 
Wm. Hinman, Co. E, 18th Kentucky, left thigh; Milton A. 
Hall, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, right side; Captain J. B. Mc- 
Clintock, Home Guards, leg and arms; Jas. McClintock, do., 
right hip; Alfred McCauley, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, back; 
Thos. Barry, Cincinnati Artillery, right thigh; L. A. Funk, 
heel; Captain W. H. Bradley, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, left leg; 
L. C. Rankin, Home Guards, left shoulder; Rev. Carter Page, 
do., leg; James S. Frizell, do., side; J. F. L. St. Thomas, do., 
chest and face; Jas. F. Dickey, do., shoulders and thighs; 
Thos. Jefferson Vimont, 7th Kentucky Cavalry, right thigh ; 
B. T. Amos, do., left arm; Jno. H. Orr, do., right arm; Wm. 
Pussly, Co. I, 18th Kentucky, abdomen; Wm. Nourse, Home 
Guards, side. 

" I can give no accurate account of the rebel dead, Morgan 
having taken off eight burial-cases from this place, and his 
men having been seen hauling oflf their dead toward George- 
town, on the Magee road and Millersburg road, after the 
fight. 

" Two of their wounded died at Winchester, and two be- 
yond that place. Since Morgan left, thirteen of his dead have 
been taken from the river, near Cynthiana, where they were 
thrown for concealment. Morgan himself admitted, at Paris, 
a loss here of twenty-four killed and seventy-eight wounded, 
and that of the many engagements participated in by him 
Bince the beginning of the war, the affair at Cynthiana was 
much the fiercest and most desperate. 

" I append a list of rebel wounded left in Cynthiana : George 
W. Clark, Simpson Count}'', Ky., chest and arm; S. N. Pitts, 
Georgia, arm; W. L. Richardson, Tennessee, side and arm* 
6 



68 . MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

"W. C. Borin, Logan County, Ky., shoulder; George T. Arnold 
Paris, Ky., right thigh and shoulder; Vesy Price, lungs; J, H. 
Estes, Georgia, thigh; A. Kinchlow, Glasgow, Ky., chest; 

James Moore, Louisiana, thigh; Calhoun, South Carolina^ 

thigh; Casey, thigh; James Smith, chest; Ladoga Cor- 

nelli, Grant County, Ky., thigh; Henry Elden, Lexington, Ky., 
arm. 

"Nine of their wounded are also at Paris, besides a number 
left along the road between this place and Richmond, Ky., to 
which point we pursued the enemy, by command of General 
G. Clay Smith. 

" We are under great obligations to the companies from Cin- 
cinnati, Newport, and Bracken County, Ky., under Captains 
Wright, Arthur, and Pepper, for their invaluable aid, who dis- 
guished themselves on the occasion, and fought like heroes. 

" The friends and relatives of tlie wounded of both sides are 
greatly indebted to Surgeon W. T. McNees of the Seventh 
Kentucky Cavalry, Doctors J. C. Fraser, A. Adams, W. 0. 

Smith, J. A. Kirkpatrick, John A. Lair, and McLeod, 

for their unremitting attentions to the wounded; and to the 
ladies of Cynthiana unbounded praise is due for their untiring 
ministrations to the wounded. 

" I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient 
servant, J. J. Landrum, 

" Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding." 

From a report to Mayor Hatch and the Committee 
of Safety, we learn that Captain Wright's company 
of about forty men. just before the battle commenced, 
was placed on a hill that commanded a road which 
led into the town. He had scarcely taken position 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 69 

when a body of cavalry aj^proaclied to witliiii three 
hundred feet of them. Supposing them to be Union 
forces, they were ordered to halt, whereupon they 
wheeled and retreated. Captain Wright ordered his 
men to fire. This was the opening volley of the 
battle, which resulted in the death of three of the 
enemy and two horses. The enemy fell back. 

Captain Wright's force was then ordered by Colonel 
Landrum to defend a bridge leading into the town by 
another road. This order was promptly obeyed. The 
bridge was already occupied by Morgan's battery of 
two guns, which were throwing shot and shell on the 
depot, which w^as crowded with soldiers, citizens, and 
Home Guards. • This company forced its way through 
the depot, but not without getting the company scat- 
tered, so that less than half the company were to- 
gether w^hen they emerged from the other side of the 
building. They then advanced toward the bridge 
about one square, in the face of a shower of grape 
and canister and musket-balls, and took position with 
a fragment of a company which was stationed behind 
a cooper's shop, which commanded the bridge at dif- 
ferent angles from the depot. They fought from that 



70 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

position about thirty minutes, Avhen they were ordered 
back to the depot. At this time Colonel Landrum was 
endeavoring: to form his men. He collected several 
small squads, making about one hundred and fifty 
men in all. They then retreated, making a stand 
at every fence. During the retreat Colonel Landrum 
is said to have behaved with great coolness and gal- 
lantry. He was the only one on horseback, and 
seemed to be a mark for the enemy. He did every 
thing in his power to encourage and keep his men 
together. This little body of soldiers, noAV reduced 
to about forty men, formed behind a haystack for a 
final effort. On their flank a bgdy of horsemen were 
seen approaching, which soon poured* a terrific volley 
of musketry into the ranks of our diminished force. 
Five of our men dropped at this fire; the rest fell 
back. Captain AVright was so much exhausted that 
he could not keep up with his men. He dragged 
himself along in the rear, loading and firing his gun 
as be retreated. While thus in the rear, four of the 
enemy rode up to him, and when within about one 
hundred feet of him, he took deliberate aim, fired and 
missed his mark, and then threw down his empty 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 71 

gun. He expected to be shot, but was simply made 
a prisoner, and treated with unexpected kindness. 

The prisoners were collected, marched into town, 
and lodged in the upper room of the court-house. 
Their paroles were made out and signed the same 
night. 

After Major W. 0. Smith was driven back with his 
little band to the Reformed Church, he ordered all his 
men to dismount, and then, taking a gun in his hand, 
he fought side by side with his men. They kept up a 
street fight for more than half an hour, until they 
were surrounded at the crossing of Main and Pleasant 
Streets. Here they were compelled to throw down 
their guns. Some of them escaped. 

Major Smith was held as a prisoner after all the 
other prisoners had been released, and, but for some 
prominent men of secession proclivities, probably would 
have been hung or shot. He was placed in a tent and 
strongly guarded, and no one was allowed to speak to 
him. When Morgan was ready to leave the town, a 
horse was brought to the tent, and Smith ordered to 
mount and start with the guard. He asked of Col 
onel Morgan an interview with his family before start 



72 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ing. Tliis was granted. While the Major was with 
his family a number of citizens secured his release. 

During this fight, it is said that citizens of Cyn- 
thiana fired from the windows of their houses on our 
troops, and did very considerable damage to them. 

After the defeat of these Union forces and the cap- 
ture of Cynthiana, Morgan made his escape out of the 
state, passing through Richmond, Kentucky, on the 
27th of the month, plundering the stores, houses, and 
stables of Union men. 

On the 30th of July he reported to Major-General 
E. Kirby Smith, commanding the Depa^rtment of East 
Tennessee, " that he had left Knoxville, Tennessee, on 
the 4th of the month, with about nine hundred men, 
and returned to Lexington, in the same state, on the 
28th inst., with nearly twelve hundred men, having 
been absent twenty-four days, during which time he 
traveled over a thousand miles, captured seventeen 
towns, destroyed the government supplies and arms in 
them, dispersed about fifteen hundred Home Guards, 
and paroled nearly twelve hundred regular troops ; and 
that he lost in killed, wounded, and missing, of the 
number that he carried into Kentucky, about ninety." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 73 

The reader can judge whether any part of the above 
report is apocrj^phal or not. 

CAPTURE OF AUGUSTA, KENTUCKY. 

In the month of September, Morgan's forces were 
again in Kentucky. A battalion of his men, under 
command of CaptaiD Basil Duke, on the 27th of the 
month, captured the town of Augusta, on the banks 
of the Ohio River. 

The following report of Colonel J. T. Bradford will 
give to the reader a clear understanding of this affair : 

"Augusta, Kt., October 12, 1862. 
" On the morning of the 27tli I dispatched a messenger (Mr. 
Cleveland) to the Belfast and Allen Collier (the latter first ar- 
rived) that the scouts reported the rebel cavalry coming, from 
four to five hundred strong, with two pieces of artillery. The 
captain of the Collier sent me word that he would remain 
there an hour, or for further orders. In half an hour I started 
to the boats, when I found the Collier rounding out. I dis- 
patched a man on horseback down the river shore to hail her 
and bring her back, but she did not obey the order. I went 
on board the Belfast to give directions personally as to the 
manner of the fight, and the rules I desired both boats to ob- 
serve in firing. I was told by Captain Sedam that the Collier 
had left to obey a signal from the Florence Miller — the Miller 
having passed down but a short time before — but was now re- 
turning. It seems that when the Miller neared Metcalfa 
Landing, a cavalry force was observed fording the river, which 



74 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

proved to be our scouts crossing to the Ohio shore to keep from 
being captured, and thus it was she returned and gave, when 
within three miles of the town, the signal for the Collier; and 
she left without my knowledge or consent, and after being 
notified of the approaching enemy. I do not know what the 
general orders of the Collier were, and whether she was bound 
to obey the signal from the Miller in the face of all other 
orders; but I do know that, according to all army rules, the 
Collier, while under my command, for the time being, had no 
right to leave without my knowledge or consent, particularly 
when she had been notified of the approach of the enemy. 

" Why did not the Miller, which had a gun equal to that 
of the Collier, defend herself, instead of returning and giving 
signal for the Collier? 

" As soon as I arrived on board the Belfast, I explained to 
Captain Sedam the manner of defense I intended to make. 
The men would be stationed in the brick houses ; the women 
and children would be directed to leave the tov/n, if time per- 
mitted; if not, they would be ordered to the cellars. 

" Just at this moment the rebel cavalry appeared on the 
hill immediately back of the town, having captured all our 
pickets on the road. 

"I then ordered Captain Sedam to throw shell among them 
so long as they remained on the hill, and so soon as they ar- 
rived on Front Street, or appeared in the street running from 
the river back to the hill, to throw grape and canister quick 
and fast. Captain Sedam then suggested the propriety of 
raising his anchor, so as to run up or back down, just as the 
necessity of circumstances might require, to which I readily 
assented. Captain Sedam looked cool, and I had no reason 
to distrust him. I ordered him to open fire immediately, as 
the rebels were then posting one of their pieces on the hill. 
I then hurried from the boat to post my men, asking Captain 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 75 

Sedara if he had fully understood my orders. He rej^lied he 
had. I then told him it would be a fight for victory, not for 
dollars and cents. Just as I left the boat, I met Mr. W. C. 
Marshall, bearing a field-glass to the Captain. As he had 
previously acted as aid to one of the gun-boats, I ordered him 
to remain on the boat. 

" Soon after I arrived on the shore the Florence Miller came 
up to the landing, and, I think, landed for a moment. I went 
immediately to the lot where my men (one hundred and twenty- 
five, all told), were drawn up in line, and made a little speech 
to them. I told them the numbers were against us; but, with 
the aid of the gun-boats and a brick and mortar defense, we 
would triumph. ' Now, my gallant boys, all who are willing 
to stand by me and by your arms, hold up your right hand ! ' 
Every hand went up, accompanied by a shout that had mean- 
ing in it, as their gallant conduct proved during the fight. The 
men were marched rapidly to their respective positions, and, 
while this was being done, the Belfast opened fire — the first 
shell falling and exploding close to their posted artillery, kill- 
ing two or three of their men. A second and third shell were 
fired by the Belfast, but with what effect I do not know. The 
small piece drawn by two horses now opened fire on the rebel 
side. The first shot struck the water one hundred yards this 
side the Belfast, and skipped over the water near her wheel. 
The rebels were now coming down into the streets, and while 
they were being cut down terribly by our men, and were fall- 
ing thick and fast on the pavement and streets, I observed both 
boats moving up the river, side by side, the Belfast next to the 
Ohio, and the Miller next to the Kentucky shore. I thought 
at first it was to get a better position, and doubtless it was so, 
eo far as they were concerned; but off they went, and, as they 
went, some two hundred rebels charged down to the water's 
edge, in full view and in line, and still no grape or canister 
7 



76 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

came from either boat. Would it have retarded the speed of 
either boat to have fired a few shots of grape and canister, 
and when, as the gunner of tiie Belfast said, he could have 
killed fifty ai a shot? For what were these boats sent here? 

" While our brave and gallant men were periling their lives 
against large odds, and their deadly fire was turning whole 
companies of disciplined men into disorder and hiding-places — 
while our own houses were smoking and crumbling to ashes 
in a gallant defense, without regard to dollars and cents, we 
were left by the gun-boats to surrender, after having killed, to 
every one of our men engaged, two of the enemy. 

" Woe be to such officers ! Let their conduct be ' bitter in 
every mouth, and infamous to all posterity!' 

" The rebel loss, according to their own record, in this fight, 
was greater than any fight in which they had been engaged. 
After the fight was over, it was found that the rebels had not 
a shell left, and only a few rounds of grape and canister. Their 
shell did no harm to the gun-boats, and but little to the town. 
It is now conceded on all hands, if the gun-boats had done 
their duty, the town would never have surrendered, and a com- 
plete rout and triumph would have crowned our eftbrts. The 
rebels had seven companies, numbering about six hundred 
men. 

" In conclusion, allow me to return my profound thanks to 
the gallant boys who stood so bravely by their arms. In 
some instances 'Greek met Greek;' and in some instances 
of a hand-to-hand fight, where the doors were broken in, some 
of our young men displayed a heroism and traces of cool, 
manly courage worthy of regu.^ars on any battle-field. 

J. Taylor Bradford, 
"Commanding Forcts." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 77 

After tlie retreat of tlie gun-boats, the rebels came 
into the town with a shout, planted cannon in the 
streets, and, without regard to the lives of Tomen and 
children, fired into houses. Colonel Bradford, seeing 
further resistance was useless, ordered a surrender. 
Then the vvork of pillage and plunder commenced. 
Much of the town was destroyed. The loss was, prob- 
ably, about one hundred thousand dollars. 

Soon as the work of pillaging ended, the bugle 
sounded, and the enemy retired from the place hastily, 
but in good order. Our killed and wounded amounted 
to about fifteen ; that of the enemy numbered between 
seventy-fiye and one hundred. Among the wounded 
was a son of George D. Prentice, of Louisville, who 
died of his wounds. Captain W. Rogers, of Harrison 
County, was killed, and a Lieutenant Wilson. The 
rebels left some of their killed and wounded in the 
hands of citizens, all of whom were properly cared 
for. They took horses, buggies, wagons, and all 
means of transportation, to carry off their dead and 
wounded. 

Lieutenant-Colonel H. B. Wilson, of the Forty- 
eighth Ohio Volunteers, had been detached from his 



78 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

regiment bj order of Major-General Wright, and or- 
dered to the command of the post at Maysville, T^'hich 
was at that time menaced by Humphrey Marshall's 
command, then at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. 

Notice was not received by Colonel Wilson of the dis- 
aster at AuD-usta until nine o'clock at nio;ht. He had at 
that time under his immediate command only a detach- 
ment of the Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteers, under com- 
mand of Captain R. Yurart, numbering one hundred 
and sixty-five men, one field-piece poorly manned, and 
a detachment of the Fourteenth Kentucky Cavalry, 
numbering three hundred, under command of Major 
Smith, two hundred of wliom had been sent that day 
to Fiemingsburg, seventeen miles distant, to drive out 
a detachment of Humphrey Marshall's command, who 
had made a lodgment in that place. This was before 
receiving information, however, of Duke's success at 
Augusta. Colonel W. instantly resolved to make an 
attempt to get in his rear, and, if possible, force him 
to battle. He at once ordered all his available troops 
to march that night to Germantown, and sent a spe- 
cial messenger to Fiemingsburg, with an order to the 
Fourteenth Kentucky Cavalry also to march to Ger- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 79 

mantown that night by the nearest route. These 
troops he placed under the command of Colonel Wm, 
H. Wadsworth, a most loyal and estimable citizen, 
then, as now, a member of Congress. Colonel Yf ads- 
worth was instructed to reach Germantown by day- 
light, at furthest, and, upon arriving there, to picket 
the surrounding country so that it would be impossible 
for any one to convey information of the movement 
to the enemy, who, it was then supposed, was yet in 
Augusta. Germantown was within one mile of the 
road leading from Augusta to Falmouth, which was 
the road on which Duke was obhged to retreat from 
the first-named place. 

After making these dispositions. Colonel Wilson took 
a gun-boat and proceeded to Ripley, Ohio, ten miles 
south of Maysville. He then hurriedly organized and 
armed a force of three hundi^ed and fifty of the Brown 
County militia, under command of Colonel Grant 
Gerard, of that place. He also procured and manned 
one field-piece there. At the head of this force he 
crossed the Ohio River to Dover, and marched thence 
to Germantown, where he arrived about dayhght, and 
found that all the other troons had arrived as ordered. 



80 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Colonel AYadsworth liad been true to his instructions, 
and had picketed the country, as was appropriately 
remarked at the time, " so that a rat could not get 
out." Many of these troops (cavalry) had marched 
forty miles that night, and yet they were all there 
at the time they were ordered to be ; and this was 
accomplished in less than nine hours from the time 
the first news of the Augusta disaster was received 
at Maysville. It is true that these detachments num- 
bered but few men, but they all marched from differ- 
ent and distant points from each other. Under the 
circumstances, I know of no concentration of troops 
having been made with as much promptness, celerity, 
and precision. Upon arriving at Germantown, it was 
ascertained that Duke had left Augusta the preced- 
ing evening, and was then at Brookville, seven miles 
distant. Colonel Wilson at once ordered the force 
forward. Upon arriving within one mile of Brook- 
ville, and learning the enemy were yet there, and not 
expecting an attach^ he detached the Forty-fourth 
Ohio, and ordered them to proceed down a ravine 
leading to the Falmouth road, at a point in the rear 
of Brookville. They were ordered, upon arriving 



MOKGAX AND HIS CAPTORS. 81 

there, to ambush themselves along that road bel:iiKl 
some fences and trees, within easy rifle-shot of the 
road. These troops, thus disposed, were to keep con- 
cealed, and reserve their fire until Colonel Vfil.^on 
should surprise the enemy in Brookville, and drive 
them out on that road, where they would certainly 
have fallen an easy prey. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, some scouts, that had been sent forward to 
reconnoiter the position of the enem,y, at this moment 
sent Colonel Wilson word that the enemy was advised 
of his approach,' and was in line of battle awaiting his 
attack. The only drilled and disciplined troops we 
had was the detachment of the Forty-fourth he had 
ordered to the Falmouth road; and, not deeming it 
prudent to attack Duke's veterans with raw mihtia 
alone, he sent an order for the Fortj^-fourth to return, 
and resolved to make the attack at once with his 
entire force upon Duke's lines. This consumed near 
half an hour, and was most unfortunate ; for, upon 
riding forward. Colonel Wilson discovered that the 
enemy was not advised of his approach, but was only 
formed in line for the purpose of leisurely marching 
out on the Falmouth road. The advance-guard of 



82 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the enemy liad just started. Had Colonel Wilson not 
received this misinformation, and the Forty-fourth 
had taken the position indicated, it is hard to see how 
any of the enemy could have escaped being killed or 
captured. 

It was yet some time before the forces could bo 
brought up to make the attack ; and before this was ac- 
complished, the main body of the enemy marched away 
on the Falmouth road, in entire ignorance of the pres- 
ence of the Union forces. Colonel Wilson ordered the 
infantry to " double-quick " down the hill, take posses- 
sion of the town, and form on the Falmouth road. He 
ordered his artillery to take position and shell the col- 
umns of the enemy. Here, again, an unfortunate blun- 
der was committed. The Fourteenth Kentucky Cavalry, 
without orders^ dashed past the infantry and rushed into 
the town ahead of them. They were raw troops, had 
just been recruited, and were yet dressed in citizens' 
clothes. As soon as the order was given to the in- 
fantry to march rapidly and take possession of the 
town, this cavalry, before any one could interfere to 
prevent it, were dashing down ahead of the infantry. 
At this moment, Colonel Duke, completely surprised, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. • 83 

was in the court-house, with fifty of his command, 
paroHng some of his Augusta prisoners. When the 
Fourteenth Kentucky Cavah-y scoured around the 
court-house, he rushed out, mounted his men under 
cover of the houses between it and the street, and 
galloped out on the Falmouth road, within nearly ten 
feet of the entire line of infantry, which had formed 
along the road, and thus escaped. They, supposing 
that it was the Fourteenth Kentucky Cavalry, which 
had scoured around the court-house, did not fire a shot. 
Duke's men were not in uniform, and as they came out 
from the court-house on precisely the same street that 
the Fourteenth Kentucky would have taken, if they 
had come at all, the mistake was natural. Thus Duke 
escaped. The plan w^as well laid to surprise him, and 
he was completely surprised, but the ea,gerness of the 
cavalry frustrated the plan. Colonel Wilson shelled 
the retreating enemy, killing six men and several 
horses. The number of wounded was not ascertained. 
The expedition, from the energy and celerity with 
which it was conducted, deserved better success ; and 
had Colonel Wilson's plans and orders not been frus- 
trated by the mistaken zeal of the cavalry, who had 



84 • MORGAN AND HIS CAPT0E3. 

not yet learned to advance only when ordered, Basil 
Duke and many of the picked men of Morgan's com- 
mand would have been prisoners long before the cele- 
brated raid into Ohio was made. 

On the 2d day of October, 1862, a body of Mor- 
gan's cavalry were repulsed by the Home Guards at 
Olive Hill, Kentucky. 

On the 17th inst. a fight took place near Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky, between a force of about three thou- 
sand cavalry, with six pieces of artillery, under the 
immediate command of General Morgan, and three 
hundred and fifty Federal cavalry, under command of 
Major Charles B. Seidel, Third Ohio Cavalry. The 
result was that the Federals retreated, after losing 
four killed, and a large number of prisoners. 

On the following day, in the vicinity of this same 
city, a skirmish occurred between a detachment of the 
Fourth Ohio Cavalry, under the command of Captain 
Robey, and a large force of rebel cavalry, under Gen- 
eral Morgan. Morgan captured the entire force, then 
dashed into Lexington, captured the provost guard, 
and then moved off toward Versailles. He captured 
about three hundred and fifty horses with their equip- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOHS. 85 

ments, as many prisoners, and the arms and accouter- 
ments of the men. The prisoners ^ere paroled. 

A skirmish took place at Morgantown, Kentucky, 
on the 24th inst., between a detachment of Union 
troops and a force of Morgan's men. The rebels re- 
treated, leaving sixteen of their number in the hands 
of Unionists. 

Morgan made another raid into Kentucky in the 
month of December, 1862. On the 27th of the 
month, he appeared before Elizabethtown, on the 
Louisville and Nashville Railroad. A force of less 
than five hundred troops, under command of the gal- 
lant Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the Ninety-first Il- 
linois Regiment, was all the force there to resist 
Morgan's three thousand troopers. The Colonel, ig- 
norant of the numbers of the enemy, and desirous of 
gaining time, demanded the surrender of Morgan. 
This demand was treated with contempt, and soon 
afterward the town was surrounded, and the enemy 
commenced firing, and that, too, without giving to the 
non-combatants — women and children — any opportu- 
nity of placing themselves beyond danger. His artil- 
lery fired one hundred and seven shots of shell and 



86 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ball into the town, thirty-six of which took effect on 
various buildings. 

Colonel Smith's command were without artillery, 
but they fired a great many shots of musketry. A 
ball passed through the room where Colonel Smith 
was posted, killing one man and throwing a splinter 
in the face of the Colonel. 

The officers were separated and could not consult 
with each other concerning the proper course to be 
pursued. Some officer, therefore, without consulting 
the Colonel commanding, gave the signal of surren- 
der. This was exceedingly mortifying to him, but 
was, no doubt, very prudent, as it saved life and the 
effusion of blood. 

As soon as the enemy got possession, the destruc- 
tion of property commenced — the railroad bridges, 
the depot, the stockade, and parts of the buildings 
used for military purposes. Several thousand bush- 
els of wdieat were consumed at the depot, belong- 
ing to Southern Rights men. Then they took e\ery 
horse that could be found, whether the property of 
Unionists or secessionists. They then made the pris- 
oners strip off their overcoats and boots, and these 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOIIS. 87 

thej took possession of. They then entered the stores 
and took away thousands of dolhirs' worth of goods. 
They even visited the hospitals, and robbed the sick 
soldiers of their blankets, quilts, provisions, and med- 
icines. 

It was undoubtedly the design of Morgan to make 
an attack on Lebanon, at which place there was a 
very large amount of government stores. But when 
he came within about six miles of that place he ascer- 
tained that there was a force there, under command 
of Colonel W. A. Hoskins, almost, if not quite, equal 
to his own; and, knowing that other forces, under 
Colonels Wolford, Harlan, and General Hobson, were 
preparing a net for him, he marched out of the state 
more rapidly than he came into it. 

Our forces pursued, but the pursuit was abandoned 
on the 2d of January, 1863, three miles beyond Co- 
lumbia. 

Colonel Hoskins's command, while pursuing Mor- 
gan, captured one hundred and fifty prisoners, a num- 
ber of horses, some arms, two caissons, and a quan- 
tity of ammunition. 

On the 23d of February, 1863, a skirmish oc- 



88 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

curred near Athens, Ky., between a party of Federal 
soldiers and a body of Morgan's guerrillas. In this 
figlit, Dr. Theopliilus Steel, a rebel, was severely 
wounded, and Charlton Morgan, a brother of General 
Morgan, w^ith others, was taken prisoner. 

An account of other raids into Kentucky by Mor- 
gan will be found in subsequent chapters of this 
volume. 

The design of these frequent raids into Kentucky 
was undoubtedly to destroy the communications with 
our army and government stores; also, to procure re- 
cruits, horses, clothing, money, munitions of war, and 
whatever else might be of service to the Confederate 
Government and damaging to our own. 

During the raid of Morgan in July, 1862, it is said 
that he received numerous dispatches from our head- 
quarters at Louisville by attaching an instrument to 
the telegraph-wires. 

On one occasion Morgan's command halted, for a 
short time, in the vicinity of a church in Kentucky. 
Public services were being conducted at the time by 
a parson well known in that state. Morgan's men 
selected from the horses that were hitched around the 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 89 

cliurch several that pleased their fancy. One of the 
men selected the parson's horse. At the close of the 
meeting, the parson, who was suspected of being a 
strong sympathizer with the Southern cause, on 
learning what had become of his horse, at once in- 
formed General Morgan (with whom he was ac- 
quainted) of the fact. 

Morgan said, in reply: "Your horse was not 
taken by my command ; go and get him, if you can 
find him." 

" I can find the horse. General," said the parson, 
"but can not get him unless you send one of your 
aids with me to enforce your order." 

" Lieutenant," said Morgan, " go with Parson 

and get his horse." 

They started oif together to search for the horse, 
and soon the parson found him. He said to the 
Lieutenant, "There is my horse," at the same time 
pointing to him. The Lieutenant let him take the 
advance. The parson kept a steady eye on the 
object of his search, fearing he would lose sight 
of him amonor the hundreds with which he was 
surrounded. As he drew near the animal, he 



90 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

said : " Here, Lieutenant, is mj horse." What was 
his astonishment, however, when he discovered that 
the Lieutenant had given him the dodge. He 
worried himself for some time to get the two to- 
gether, face to face, but without success. Finally, 
he said to the rebel mounted on his animal : "■ I 
have another horse, just as good as this one, that I 
will give you in his stead, as my wife can drive 
this one in the buggy." The " reb " straightened him- 
self to his full hight in his stirrups, and looking down 
upon the anxious parson with an arched eyebrow, said ; 
"Parson, if there is any thing that I profess to be a 
good judge of, it is horse-flesh. I believe we can not 
tirade." He then rode off, leaving his victim to think 
of the casualties of war. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 91 



CHAPTER III. 

MORGAN IN TENNESSEE— HIS MILITARY CHAKACTER— AT EDGEFIELD— CAPTURE OI 
A FEDERAL BRIGADE— NARROW ESCAPE OF MORGAN— CAPTURE OF A BRIGA- 
DIER-GENERAL — morgan's first thorough defeat — INCIDENTS. 

IF the Confederate Government succeeds in estab- 
lishing its independence, the name of General Mor- 
gan will go down to posterity covered with honor. 
But if it fails of this result, as we believe it will, then 
his name will go down to posterity covered with shame 
and infamy. Success and failure are not always true 
criteria of character ; but so the world has frequently 
decided in the past, and so it will probably decide in 
the future. 

It can not be denied that the name of Morgan 
stands high among the Southern people as a military 
leader. They regard him as only inferior to Generals 
Lee and Jackson. Neither will it be denied that he 
has been of great service to the rebellion, and often 
troublesome to our armies ; yet we can not say that 

hravery is a chief characteristic of the man. No doubt 
8 



92 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

there are tliousands of officers and privates, in botli 
armies, his equal in tliis respect, if not his superior. 
His wily, or foxy, character has fairly entitled him to 
the name of '' the Swamp Fox." This has given to 
liim his chief success and high name among Southern 
people, and has made him a terror to his enemies. 
He has seldom, if ever, made an attack upon any 
force equal to or superior to his own ; and, whenever 
he has been attacked by a superior force, he has 
trusted more to the heels of his horses than his sword. 
But that the reader may form his own opinions, and 
draw his own conclusions, we will give an account of 
his principal raids and engagements. 

Soon after midnight, on the 6th of November, 1862, 
a vigorous attack was made on the pickets of Gen- 
eral Negley, on the south side of Nashville, the design 
of which was to give Morgan an opportunity to de- 
stroy the bridge over the Cumberland River. This 
attack was resisted most bravely, on the south side 
of the city, by the Fifty-first Illinois Regiment of 
Infantry. The enemy were repulsed, with a loss of 
seven Federal soldiers wounded and two missing. 

In the mean time, and soon after midnight, Morgan 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 93 

forded the Cumberland and moved upon Edgefield. 
In order to gain time, he sent in a flag of truce, ask- 
ing an exchange of prisoners. As soon as the flag 
returned, he swept suddenly upon our pickets and 
skirmishers, and drove them back to the main body. 
He then moved swiftly behind the railway embank- 
ment, and, without exposure, reached a spot near the 
bridge; but, as the head of his column raised to a 
level with the road, the Sixteenth Regiment of Illinois 
Infantry, commanded by Colonel Smith, opened a well- 
directed fire upon the enemy, and he at once re- 
treated, having lost several men. Our losses were six 
men wounded, among whom was Captain Rowe. The 
freight-house and a few platform-cars were burned. 

"While Brigadier-General Dumont's division* was 
posted at Castilian Springs, in front of Gallatin, Tenn., 
complying with orders, he threw forward a brigade 
some eight or nine miles to Hartsville, to guard a ford 
at that point, and to observe the Lebanon road. Un- 
der directions from General Thomas, they took up a 

* See "Rosecrans's Campaign with the Fourteenth Army Corps." 



94 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

strong position upon high ground, which, by good 
management and strong fighting, it was presumed 
they couid hold against a division. They were at first 
commanded by Colonel J. R. Scott, of the valiant 
Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, but he was subsequently 
relieved by Colonel A. B, Moore, of the One Hundred 
and Fourth Illinois Infantry, an officer without much 
experience. His brigade consisted of raw levies — 
the One Hundred and Fourth Illinois, the One Hun- 
dred and Sixth and One Hundred and Eighth Ohio 
Yolunteers, together with a section of Knicklin's In- 
diana Battery, and three hundred men of the Second 
Indiana Cavalry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart. 
The Second Brigade, under Colonel Harlan, and the 
Fortieth, under Colonel Miller, were at Castilian 
Springs, within good supporting distance. 

'' Morgan, with a force of about fifteen hundred 
mounted infantry, , surprised Colonel Moore at sun- 
rise on the 7th of December, 1862, and captured him, 
with fifteen hundred and five men and most of their 
oliicers, together with their two field-pieces, a large 
portion of their arms, equipments, ammunition, and 
transportation. The skirmishing, combat, rout, and 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 95 

puis'iit occupied less than an hour and a half! Here 
was v/iie instance of Morgan attacking and capturing 
a force Mot inferior to his own ; and this is, probably, 
the only .>oe in his miiiiary career, and may be readily 
accounted kx. 

" It was ^ubsequeiudy ascertained that Colonel 
Moore had leen twio<; warned that he would be 
attacked on th*^ 7th in&Unt. A slave, who had over- 
heard his mastvr, who was a member of Morgan's 
command, state to his wife that the attack was con- 
templated, wadej the Cumberland River, after night, 
on the 4th, and notified Captains Lewis and Bertassy 
of the contempkted surprise. They reported the 
information to Colonel Moore. On the night of the 
6th the same negro again crossed the river, and no- 
tified Captain Lewis that the enemy were encamped 
within four miles of Harts ville, and would attack at 
daybreak next morning. The officer of the day and 
the Colonel commanding were promptly notified, but 
the warning was again unheeded. 

"At sunrise on Sunday morning, notice of the ap- 
proach of the enemy in the rear was suddenly given 
by one of the camp-guards, who discovered the gray 



96 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

jackets moving down the declivity of an oppo^i^^ hill, 
His shout, ^ The rebels are coming ! ' was the first 
admonition the camp received. The posting of pick- 
ets on that side had been neglected. Captain Grood, 
a brave officer, of the One Hundred and Sixth Ohio, 
swiftly moved, upon his own responsibility, to the right 
front with a company of skirmishers, and opened a 
sharp fire. The enemy, surprised at the hitherto 
quiet deportment of the camp, suspected stratagem, 
and were cautious in their approach. Time enough 
to form his hne advantageously was thus afforded 
Colonel Moore, but he was too confused to take ad- 
vantage of it. At the suggestion of Colonel Tafel, of 
the One Hundred and Sixth Ohio, he occupied the 
crown of a bold, bald hill to the right of the camp. 
The troops flung themselves along the crest, and stood 
there silently, awaiting orders, w^hile the enemy were 
moving deliberately in column of fours down the de- 
clivity of the opposite hill, to form in the ravine 
which separated the hostile forces. Nobody seemed 
to think of the propriety of sending to Castilian 
Springs for reinforcements ; but the enemy having ap- 
proached in the rear, and clouds of mounted skirm- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 97 

ishers beginning already to harass Moore's flanks, 
eflbrts to send for aid probably would have been 
defeated. 

"After descending into the hollow, the rebels dis- 
mounted, moved forward in compact line, and, under a 
scattering and ineffective fire from Moore's line, gained 
cover behind a fence at the foot of the hill below our 
troops. Moore's line was now thoroughly exposed, 
while the enemy fought with comparative security, and 
so effectively that our men soon began to give way. 
Moore seemed thoroughly disconcerted, and it was 
clear that, unless his troops fought their own way 
through the difficulty, they would be hopelessly de- 
feated. The Illinois troops and the One Hundred and 
Sixth Ohio stood up to the work well — the former 
especially ; but the One Hundred and Eighth was the 
first to break and fall back. The field-pieces, in the 
mean time, had opened from their park, and were 
making some noise. One of them was brought to the 
center, and, at the first fire, exploded a rebel caisson. 
Colonel Moore now ordered the whole line to fall back 
to the rear of the gun, leaving it exposed to the 
enemy. In a few minutes its horses, and many of its 



98 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

men, were picked off by sharp-shooters ; and it was 
dragged to the rear of the camps, taking position on 
a rocky hill, where the other gun was playing upon 
the rebel reserves on the opposite side of the river. 

" Moore's line, already badly confused, was ordered 
to fall back to the guns — a movement which was 
executed with more haste than skill. Colonel Tafel 
was carrying his regiment off on the right, on a skirt 
of timber, when the enemy made his appearance on 
his flank, in strong force. Tafel engaged immediately, 
and a sharp fight ensued. The One Hundred and 
Sixth fought and fell back gradually, while the other 
regiments re-formed on the hill. The rebels, however, 
finally pushed into the .camps of the One Hundred and 
Fourth Illinois and One Hundred and Sixth Ohio, 
which compelled Tafel to retire to the main body. 
Before he reached that point. Colonel Moore surren- 
dered. Squads of rebels dashed up toward Tafel's 
regiment, and were fired on ; but, discovering that he 
was nearly surrounded, and that three-fourths of the 
command had been surrendered, Tafel at length suc- 
cumbed. Captain Good and his skirmishers were still 
ignorant of the extent of the misfortune, and sus- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 99 

tained a lively figlit, in the rear of the right flank, to 
prevent a squadron of cavalry from breaking into the 
camps. When notified of the condition of affairs, his 
gallant company scattered in the forests, and many 
saved themselves. After surrendering his sword, Cap- 
tain Good himself managed to elude his captors, and 
escaped. 

" Morgan, fully aware that fugitives would soon re- 
port at Castilian Springs, discovered the necessity for 
haste. Gathering the cream of the spoils, as rapidly 
as possible, he drove the captives across the river, and 
moved swiftly in retreat. Before his rear-guard had 
gotten out of the way. Colonel Harlan came up with 
his brigade, and enjoyed the melancholy satisfaction 
of flinging a few shells into the ranks of the successful 
fiigitives. The rebels had a right to be proud of this 
achievement. 

" Our loss was fifty-five killed and one hundred 

wounded. The casualties of the enemy were about 

equal to ours. The Second and Ninth Kentucky 

(rebel) regiments alone lost about sixty-four. Colonel 

Moore, and the field officers of the three regiments 

of infantry, and Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, of the 
9 



100 MORGAN AKT) HIS CAPT" .S, 

Second Indiana Cavalry, together >vith most of the 
Ime oflicers of the brigade, were captured. Major 
Hill, of the latter regiment, escaped, after receiving a 
severe wound. Lieutenant W. Y. Gholson, Acting 
Assistant Adjutant-General of the brigade, a young 
officer of superior merit, was killed while gallantly 
discharging his duty, in the heat of the conflict." 

Major-General J. J. Reynolds sent out an expe- 
dition* on the 20th of April, 1862, for the purpose of 
capturing or dispersing the rebel forces at McMinn- 
ville, Tennessee. '^- Part of this command, under the 
brave Colonel Minty, encountered the rebel pickets 
within one mile and a half of McMinnville. The 
enemy numbered about seven hundred — six hundred 
cavalry and the provost guard of one hundred men. 
The enemy formed a line of battle and opened fire. 
Our force at once made a gallant charge, and the 
enemy fled. Their cavalry were scattered in every 
direction, and fled from the town in double-quick time. 
Part of their number escaped on the railroad train, 

* See "Annals of the Army of the Cumberland." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 101 

which started as our forces entered the place. Our 
advance-guard, consisting of twenty-five men of the 
Seventh Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Lieu- 
tenant Thompson, charged through the town. Cor- 
poral Street mortally wounded Lieutenant-Colonel 
Martain, of Johnson's Kentucky Cavahy, laying open 
his skull by a saber-stroke. General John H. Morgan 
was riding by the side of Colonel Martain at the time, 
and barely escaped by the fleetness of his horse," 

On the 22d of August, 1862, Brigadier-General 
Johnson attacked Morgan near Gallatin, Tennessee, 
and Morgan's forces being superior in numbers, John- 
son was soon surrounded. He lost about one hun- 
dred men, killed and wounded. One-half of his com- 
mand, and himself among the number, were taken 
prisoners. He made a desperate fight, but in vain. 
The enemy's loss was considerable. Johnson was pa- 
roled and subsequently exchanged. 

On the 20th of March, 1863, a force of about four- 
teen hundred men, consisting of the One Hundred 
and Fifth Ohio, the Eightieth and One Hundred r.nd 
Twenty-third Illinois Regiments of Infantry, and One 
Hundred and First Indiana Regiment of Infantry, 



102 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

one section of the Nineteenth Indiana Battery, and 
Company A of the First Tennessee Cavalry, com- 
manded by Colonel A. S. Hall, of the One Hundred 
and Fifth Ohio Regiment, was near the town of Mil- 
ton, Tenn., about twelve miles north-east of Murfrees- 
boro. Soon after occupying this position, the enemy, 
commanded by General John H. Morgan, made his 
appearance suddenly within fifteen hundred yards of 
our position, and approached our force at a full gallop. 
A section of Harris's battery opened fire upon the 
rapidly advancing rebels. This checked them for the 
time, but in a few minutes their main force came in 
sight, dismounted, and advanced on foot. 

Colonel Hall at once discovered that the enemy's 
force was much stronger than his own in numbers. He 
therefore sent a courier to Murfreesboro for reinforce- 
ments. A fine of battle was speedily formed with the 
Eightieth Illinois on the right. One Hundred and 
Twenty-third Illinois in the center, and One Hundred 
and First Indiana on the left. The One Hundred and 
Fifth Ohio Regiment was kept as a reserve force and 
support to the battery. The enemy opened fire with 
his battery, and simultaneously advanced on both of 



II 



MORaAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 103 

oiir flanks. Morgan made direct charges on our lines, 
but the nature of the ground was such that lie could 
not keep out of the range of our battery, and his 
heavy columns passing to our left were two or thi-eo 
times cut in two by its terrible fire. The Eightieth 
Illinois Regiment, by constant and destructive volleys, 
greatly aided in checking the enemy. 
An officer of the army says:* 

" The enemy now advanced on the left in solid col- 
umns, making a vigorous onset upon the One Hundred 
and First Indiana Regiment and the left wing of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois, but were 
driven back in confusion. A second time they made a 
still more powerful attack. Some little confusion was 
at first manifested in the ranks of the One Hundred 
and First Regiment, but it was only for a moment, 
and the enemy were again driven back with still heav- 
ier loss. Failing in his attempt on the left, he now 
moved in heavy force against the right, meanwhde 
opening a sharp fire upon the center from four pieces 
of artillery. Here, too, he was driven back with ter- 

* See " Annals of the Armj of the Cumberland." 



104 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

rible slaughter. The Illinois, Oliio, and Indiana regi- 
ments took deliberate aim, and at several places were 
forced to a liand-to-liand fight. They displayed the 
most invincible bravery. Our artillery was so handled 
as to do splendid execution. One of the enemy's field- 
pieces, a rifled six-pounder, was shivered to atoms, 
while a shell killed the gunner belonging to another. 

*' Failing to accomphsh any thing on our flanks, the 
enemy next made an attack on the rear, but there, 
also, he was met and repulsed from the commanding 
position occupied by our forces, in such a tremendous 
storm of shot that the guerrilla gangs were literally 
mowed down. Again and again the rebels persevered, 
but each time v,'ithout success, until, at length, Mor- 
gan, after fighting three hours and a half, at two 
o'clock withdrew his command. 

^' He continued his artillery fire, however, and once, 
having received reinforcements, began a new and 
fierce attack, but soon withdrew in confusion. At 
half-past four o'clock his artillery ceased firing, and 
tlie whole command left the field. He collected most 
of his wounded, except those within the range of our 
rifles and the mortally wounded, and carried them 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 105 

away with Mm. Four captains, two lieutcnaats, and 
fifty-seven men were found upon the field, dead or 
mortally wounded. Four surgeons were left to care 
for ttie wounded, by whom Colonel Hall was informed 
that the wounded carried oif the field amounted to 
about three hundred, including General Morgan, 
slightly wounded in the arm, and a number of officers. 
The total loss of the enemy, in killed and wounded, 
could not have been much less than four hundred. 
Ten prisoners, eight horses, and fifty-three stands of 
arms were captured, and brought into camp. Colonel 
Hall's losses were six killed, forty -two wounded, and 



The force of the enemy was not less than two 
thousand men. They had four pieces of artillery. 

Colonel Hall returned to Murfreesboro on the 21st 
instant, where he received the hearty congratulations 
of the whole army for his complete victory over the 
enemy. 

This was Morgan's first tliorough defeat. 

On Sunday, the 16th of March, 1862, Morgan, with 
about forty of his men, suddenly entered the town of 



106 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Gallatin, Tennessee. His first act was to arrest all 
the Union men of the place, and confine them in the 
guard-house ; then he dressed himself in the uniform 
of a Union soldier, and proceeded to the telegraph- 
ofiice, at the railroad depot, a short distance from the 
town. 

Entering the office, the following conversation took 
place : 

Morgan. ^' Good day, sir ! What news have you ?" 

Operator. '' Nothing, sir, except it is reported that 
the rebel Morgan is this side of the Cumberland, with 
some of his cavalry. I wish I could get sight of the 
rascal ; I 'd make a hole through him." 

While thus speaking, the operator drew a fine navy 
revolver, and flourished it, as if to satisfy his visitor 
how desperately he would use it, if he should happen 
to meet the famous guerrilla. 

" Do you know who I am ?" quietly remarked 
Morgan. 

" I do not," repHed the operator. 

" Well, I am John Morgan." 

At these words the operator's cheeks blanched, and 



MORGAN Am> HIS CAPTORS. 107 

his knees smote together, as did Belshazzar's when he 
gaw the mysterious handwriting. 

After the frightened man had somewhat recovered, 
Morgan required him to telegraph a message to George 
D. Prentice, of the Louisville Journal, in which he 
politely offered to act as his escort on his proposed 
visit to Nashville. Then, taking the operator with 
him as a prisoner, Morgan and his men awaited the 
arrival of the train from Bowling Giecn. 

The train came on time. Morgan at once seized it ; 
and, taking five Union officers, who were passengers, 
and the engineer of the train, prisoners, he burned to 
cinders all the cars, with their contents, and then, fill- 
ing the locomotive with the most combustible material, 
shut down all the valves, and started it toward Nash- 
ville. After the train had run about eight hundred 
yards, the accumulation of steam caused it to explode, 
shivering it into a thousand atoms. Morgan then 
started southward, with his prisoners, and made his 
way safely to the Confed-erate camp. 



lOS MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MOBGAN'S great raid through K.ENTUCKr, INDIANA, AND OHIO — THE IINE 09 
HIS MARCH — AT BTJRKSVILLE — FIGHTS AT COLUMBIA AND GREEN RIVEB 
BRIDGE — A FEMALE SOLDIER — FIGHT AND SURRENDER AT LEBANON — MORGAN 
MARCHES TO BRANDENBURG — A WARLIKE EVENT AT THIS PLACE BEFORE THE 
PRESENT WAR — THE CAPTURE OF TWO STEAMERS — EFFORTS TO PREVENT THE 
REBELS FROM CROSSING THE RIVER— HIS MARCH FROM THE RIVER TO CORYDON, 
IND. — THE BATTLE AND CAPTURE OF CORYDON — INCIDENTS OF THE CAPTURE. 

IN order to give to the reader a clear idea of this 
greatest raid of the war, it will be necessary 
to follow the line of Morgan's march, which line is 
marked by burned houses and bridges and the blood 
of many of the best citizens of Kentucky, Indiana, and 
Ohio — patriots whose names will long be remembered. 

Morgan first entered Kentucky at Burksville, near 
which place (as will be more fully described here- 
after) Colonel Jacob, with his gallant Ninth Regiment 
of Cavalry, met the enemy, repulsed them, and forced 
tliem back to the south bank of the Cumberland River. 

Morgan, however, afterward succeeded in crossing 
the river with his entire command, and marched rap- 
idly to Columbia. At this place the enemy were met 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 109 

1)V a force of only one hundred and fifty men under 
the command of tlie gallant and lamented Captain 
Carter, of Wolford's Cavalry. This brave little force, 
headed by a man of Spartan bravery, met and held 
in check, for three full hours, an entire brigade of 
Morgan's men, and repulsed them several times. 
After Captain Carter fell, mortally wounded. Captain 
(now Major) Fishback assumed command of the little 
band of heroes and fought successfully for more than 
an hour, when, finding himself almost surrounded, he 
withdrew his command, with so much skill that he 
saved nearly every man, and rejoined his regiment 
at Jamestown. 

While on this line of march to Lebanon, Morgan 
proceeded with his forces to Green River for the pur- 
pose of destroying the splendid iron bridge that spans 
that stream, and capturing the small force stationed 
there under command of Colonel Moore. The rebel 
force, however, met with a severe repulse, and lost 
their Colonel (Chenault) and thirty officers and men. 
Thus, while Pemberton and his army were surrender- 
ing to General Grant at Yicksburg, and Lee and his 
rebel host were fleeing before our victorious army in 



110 MORaAN AND SIS CAPTORi^ 

Pennsylvania, Colonel Moore, at Green River bridge, 
was repulsing John Morgan on the anniversary of our 
independence. Among our wounded in this engage- 
ment was a heroine, whose history we give in the 
language of another : 

" Lizzie Compton, a briglit young lady of sixteen, arrived in 
the city yesterday from Bardstown, where she had been en- 
camped with her regiment, the Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, of 
which she has been a member for several months past. Her 
history, during the past eighteen months, is strange and roman- 
tic. She has served in seven different regiments, and partici- 
pated in several battles. At Fredericksburg she was seriously 
wounded, but recovered, and followed the fortunes of war, 
which cast her from the Army of the Potomac to the Army of 
the Cumberland. She fought in the battle of Green Eiver 
bridge on the 4th of July last, and received a wound which 
disabled her for a short time. She has been discovered and 
mustered out of the service seven or eight times, but imme- 
diately reenlisted in another regiment. She states that her 
home is in. London, Canada West, and that her parents are 
now living in that place. This young girl has served a term of 
eighteen months in the army, and, were it not that she dreads 
the annoyance of being detected and mustered out, she would 
enter the service again. She was sent to this city by the 
officers in command at Bardstown, to be again mustered out, 
and is now at Barrack No. 1, awaiting orders." — Louisville 
Journal. 

From Green River bridge Morgan marched rap- 
idly to the town of Lebanon, situated at the terminus 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. Ill 

of the Lebanon branch of the Louisville and Nashville 
Kailroad. This place was then occupied by the 
regiment of Colonel Hanson, which numbered at the 
time only about three hundred and twenty-five sol- 
diers. Morgan attacked this little force, and, after 
a desperate engagement, compelled it to surrender. 
Seldom in the history of warfare do we read of a 
more gallant defense than that made at Lebanon by 
a frao-ment of a reoiment. 

One who actively participated in this affair thus 
describes it : 

" On Sunday morning, July 5, 1863, General John H. Mor- 
gan, commanding Confederate forces, appeared before the town 
of Lebanon, Kentucky, and demanded of Colonel Charles S. 
Hanson its immediate surrender, together with the troops under 
his command. Colonel Hanson sent Morgan his respects, and 
declined to accede to his demand. He (Morgan) forthwith 
commenced the attack with his artillery, of which he had four 
pieces. The first shell sent was thrown with remarkable pre- 
cision, as it fell quite near our regiment, drawn up in line of 
battle. Our boys deployed, and then commenced one of the 
most severe contests that the Twentieth Kentucky was ever en- 
gaged in. Our gallant boys had passed through the ordeal of 
fire and blood at Shiloh ; had been in every skirmish before 
Corinth; were at Perryville and Nelson's Cross-roads; but this 
fight at Lebanon, in duration of time and severity of charac- 
ter, eclipsed all. For seven mortal hours did the leaden hail 
of death rain through the air, its terrible fury only drowned 



112 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

occasionally by the roar of cannon. During these hours the 
fighting Twentieth Kentucky did well. 

" Morgan had four thousand six hundred men and four 
pieces of artillery. Hanson had about three hundred and 
twenty-five men — no artillery. As a matter of course, our 
brave Colonel Hanson, the ' defender of Lebanon,' had to 
surrender. This was done very reluctantly. Had the re- 
inforcements from Danville arrived in time, Morgan never 
would have attacked Lebanon. This was told me by his 
own men. He intended to pass to the left of Lebanon and 
to proceed to Bardstown Junction. 

" Our loss, in action^ was three men killed; after action^ two 
men murdered. We had sixteen wounded, one of whom ha« 
since died in hospital. Morgan's loss was fifty-six killed and 
one hundred and forty-eight wounded. Now, what did the re- 
doubtable John gain by his attack ? His brother, Tom Mor- 
gan, was killed instantly. 

" After our surrender, Morgan's men behaved very badly, 
showing themselves to be what they are, viz. : a crowd of 
heartless thieves, murderers, and scoundrels. They broke open 
stores, plundering them of valuables ; they set fire to private 
dwelling-houses and public property; robbed our officers and 
men of their money, hats, boots, shoes, clothing, etc. It shows 
how sadly men can degenerate. Persons with whom we have 
associated in former days, and who called themselves gentle- 
men, at Lebanon rode up to us, a la mode Dick Turpin, and, 
with pistol drawn, demanded our money ! Yet these very same 
marauders were welcomed by certain chivalry (!) and beauty 
(?) to Lebanon. I saw many ovations in town and on our way 
to Springfield. 

" When we had surrendered, we were marched under guard 
to the depot, there to be paroled, but our forces beginning to 
conae in on the Danville road, the cut-throats began to leave. 



MORaAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 113 

taking us with them at a double-quick pace, nor did we stop 
until Springfield had been reached, a distance of ten mi)ea 
from Lebanon. Many of our brave boys fell exhausted on the 
road, one of whom, First Sergeant Joseph Slaughter, of Com- 
pany B, becoming faint and weary, was clubbed by them with 
0, musket until dead ! Another, Samuel Ferguson, private of 
Company I, when worn out with fatigue, got upon a horse. 
He was ordered, in a gruff voice, by one of the villains to get 
down. He did so, and fell in the mud and water of the road. 
(A very severe storm of wind and rain had been raging during 
our march.) I and another gentleman then placed him in a 
wagon. He died that night. Poor fellow! He was a good 
soldier. In a word, we, one and all, were treated with inhu- 
manity; they bestowed upon us all the gross epithets that their 
polluted brains could devise. Colonel Hanson himself was 
grossly insulted several times by Morgan, as was also Captain 
H. S. Parish, of Company A, whom Morgan threatened to 
shoot, accusing him of killing his brother Tom. 

" "We arrived at Springfield a little before sunset, and were 
immediately paroled. While Colonel Alston, Morgan's Chief 
of Staff, was engaged in paroling us, the rebels were leaving 
town all the while. Alston was captured next morning. On 
Monday morning we marched back to Lebanon, and from 
thence we came to our present quarters here at Camp Nelson. 
We shall be permitted to visit our homes in a short time. 

" We lost our ' dear old flag ' at Lebanon. This had been 
presented to us by the patriotic ladies of Lexington, Kentucky. 
As our regiment will be in the field again shortly, I hope the 
Union-loving ladies of that city will give us another ' Banner 
of Stars,' with the names of Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Nel- 
son's Cross-roads, and lastly that of Lebanon, engraven 
thereon. Let the name ' Lebanon ' be placed there in bright 
and glorious colore. 



114 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

"Appended is a list of the casualties of the regiment: 

" Company A — N. B. Devary, wounded. 

" Company B — Sergeant Joseph Slaughter, knocked in the 
head with a musket. 

''■Company C — Eugente McCarty, wounded — since died; 
Tkouias Lynott, Sergeant J. C. Foster, H. C. Ball, wounded. 

" Company D — P. C. Daniels, killed ; Presley Matthews, 
J Butler, wounded. 

" Company F — Jesse Edwards, killed ; Bell Marshall, 
wounded. 

" Company O — Josiah Groves, E. Hayden, wounded. 

" Company H — W. H. Gates, E. P. Halstead wounded. 

" Company I — S. Ferguson, died from inhuman treatment ; 
Sergeant J. W. T. Bailey, John Barlow, wounded. 

" Company K — Corporal John House, killed ; J. S. Gifibrd, 
Adolphus Cooley, wounded. 

" Thus making, in all, six killed and sixteen wounded." 



From Lebanon Morgan took a most unexpected 
route, and marched to the town of Brandenburg. 
This place is located on the south bank of the Ohio 
River, about forty miles below the city of Louisville, 
on a very elevated spot of ground. It will be remem- 
bered as the place wdiere hostilities had almost com- 
menced between a portion of the inhabitants of a free 
and a blave state, two or three years previous to the 
present war. A citizen of Indiana, w^ho resides not 
very far from this place, on the opposite side of the 



Morgan and his captors. 115 

river, was accused of aiding a fugitive slave in making 
Ms escape. On a certain occasion, this man was in 
J^ew Albany, a city of Indiana, three miles helow 
Louisville, on the river bank Two or three policemen 
from Louisville, without any legal authority, seized 
this man, hurried with him to Louisville, and thrust 
him into prison. This created intense excitement in 
these neighboring cities, and there was every appear 
ance of serious trouble. To prevent this, the pris- 
oner was hurried away, in the dead of night, to Bran- 
denburg. Some two or three hundred of the citizens 
of New Albany armed themselves, and, taking one or 
two pieces of cannon, seized a steamboat, lying at the 
wharf, and at once proceeded to Brandenburg. They 
anchored their boat immediately in front of the town, 
and sent a committee to the authorities of the place 
to demand the surrender of the prisoner. In the 
mean time, he had been hurried away to Elizabeth- 
town, some twenty miles in the interior of the state. 
The committee demanded his immediate return and 
his delivery into their hands, or else they would open 
fire on the town. The prisoner was returned and 

delivered to the New Albanians, and thus ended an 
10 



116 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

affair that had almost broken out into open hostilities, 
-" Coming events cast theii^ shadows before." Little 
did any one then think that this place was so soon to 
be the scene of a more intense excitement, occasioned 
by an army of the minions of slavery invading from 
this spot the free state of Indiana, and closely pur- 
sued by another army composed chiefly of Southern- 
ers, and many of them slaveholders, but men who 
loved their country more than slavery, and w^ho said : 
'' If slavery perishes incidentally in this war, let it 
perish." 

Had our military authorities understood the design 
of Morgan when he marched to Brandenburg, he might 
have been easily captured, and that, too, before he 
could have reached the Jeffersonville and Indianapohs 
Kailroad. 

In the afternoon of July 7, the steamer J. T. 
McCombs landed at Brandenburg just at the time they 
Morgan's advance-guard entered the town. They at 
once seized the boat, and after robbing the passengers, 
as it is reported, they took the boat into the middle 
of the river, anchored her, and then hoisted a signal 
of distress, by which means they captured the Ahce 



MORGAN AND HIS CAffORS. 117 

Dean another steamboat that wa« passing up the 
rivei 

Information of the state of affaii'S at Brandenburg 
was carried to Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. J. Irvin, then 
at Mauckport, on the Indiana shore, two miles below 
the town, by some Union citizens of Brandenburg^ 
Colonel Irvin at once dispatched a courier to Colonel 
Jordan at Corjdon for reinforcements, to prevent, if 
possible, the rebels from crossing the river. Shortly 
after receiving the intelligence, the steamer Lady Pike, 
coming up the river, was hailed at Mauckport by order 
of Colonel Irvin, and was sent back down the river to 
Leavenworth for a six-pounder gun and assistance. 
About midnight the boat returned with the piece of ord- 
nance and a small company of men, commanded by Cap- 
tain Lyons and Colonel Woodbury. Before daylight, 
on Wednesday morning, the gun was in position on the 
banks of the river, opposite Brandenburg ; and as soon 
as daylight and the disappearance of the fog rendered 
it practicable, the gunners were directed to fire at the 
boilers of the steamers lying in the river, with the 
view of disabhng the machinery, and thus destroying 
the only means by which the rebels could cross tho 



118 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

river. This wise order of Colonel Irvin is said to 
have been countermanded by some one who claimed 
to be his superior in command. The gun, instead 
of being directed against the boats, opened fire with 
shells on the rebel cavalry stationed on the op- 
posite bank, who fled precipitately to the rear of 
the town, but not until they lost thirty of their 
men, killed and wounded. A short time after this, 
two rebel batteries — one at the court-house, the other 
at the lower part of the town — ^began to play with 
terrific force upon our gun with shells, making it 
too hot for the men in command of the Federal gun 
to hold their position. They abandoned their gun, but 
afterward returned and moved it to the rear. The 
rebel cavalry dismounted, and, acting as infantry, kept 
up a constant fire, from the Kentucky shore, at our 
forces. To this the infantry on the Indiana shore, con- 
sisting of about one hundred men of Captains Farquar's, 
Huffinan's, and Hays's companies, of the Legion, 
replied qu^ickly. The suT)erior artillery force of the 
enemy compelled our small force to retire ; and then, 
under cover of his batteries, the enemy commenced 
crossing to the Indiana shore. In this f ght the Fed- 



MORGAN Ai:V HIS CAPTORS. 119 

erals lost two men killed and four wounded. The 
names of the killed were George Nance, of Laconia, 
and James Currant, of Heth Township. 

Soon after Morgan crossed the river with his entire 
force, he moved cautiously toward the town of Cory- 
don, rifling many houses and appropriating all the 
horses his men could find. That the enemy moved 
cautiously, or was retarded in his march by the skirm- 
ishers of Colonel Irvin and Provost Timberlake and 
the obstructions placed in the road, is quite evident 
from the fact that he was nearly twenty-four hours 
moving a distance of fourteen miles, while in the suc- 
ceeding twenty-four hours he marched about forty 
miles. 

The Home Guards and citizens of Corydon, num- 
bering about three hundred effective men, on Wednes- 
day evening marched out on the Mauckport road 
to skirmish with the enemy and impede his progress 
as much as possible. In the mean time it was hoped 
that reinforcements, which had been sent for at New 
Albany, would arrive. For some good reason, no 
doubt, the brave Corydonians were left to fight their 
own battles. The main body of thi.s little force wag 



120 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

commanded bj Colonel Jordan, who marched to the 
house of the Rev. Peter Glenn, four miles south of 
Corydon. At this place the infantry remained until 
ten o'clock at night, and then returned to the neighbor- 
hood of Corydon. Cavalry and mounted citizens, num- 
bering about one hundred men, were sent on the roads 
south of Corydon, as scouts, to watch the movements 
of the enemy, and to give information, from time to 
time, to Colonel Jordan. Several engagements be- 
tween the skirmishers occurred on Wednesday evening 
and Thursday morning in the vicinity of Mr. Glenn's 
house. One rebel was killed and two captured. The 
enemy avenged the death of their comrade in a most 
merciless manner by shooting John Glenn through 
both thighs, then fired the house, barn, and crib of 
his father — all of which, together with the household 
furniture, were consumed — and finally shot the father, 
who entered the burning house, probably for the pur- 
pose of saving some valuables from destruction. He 
was shot through the breast, but was able to walk out 
of the burning building and say to his wounded, son, 
"I am shot." He laid down under a peach-tree in 
his own yard, and in a few moments breathed his last. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 121 

Let it be remembered that the murdered father and 
wounded son were unarmed citizens and non-combat- 
ants. The enemy also burned the mill of Peter Lopp, 
on Buck Creek. 

About half-past eleven o'clock, on Thursday morn- 
ing, the Federal scouts reported that the enemy were 
advancing in force along the Mauckport road, toward 
Corydon. Our forces, by this time, amounted to about 
five hundred men — Home Guards and citizens — all un- 
der the command of Colonel Lewis Jordan, an old and 
highly respectable citizen, who was assisted by Provost 
Timberlake, lately Colonel of the Eighty-first Indi- 
ana Regiment of Volunteers, and Major Jacob Pfrim- 
mer, who, during the morning and the previous after- 
noon and night, had been engaged with the cavalry in 
scouting. A line of battle was formed about one mile 
south of Corydon, across the Mauckport and Laconia 
roads ; temporary breastworks were hastily formed of 
logs and rails. The left of our line was formed by a 
company commanded by Captain G. W. Lahue. About 
one o'clock P. M., a small force of the enemy made 
an attack upon our extreme left, and were severely 
repulsed. At this place, Mr. Henry Steepleton, of 



122 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the Union forces, and a number of rebels were killed, 
and several persons wounded. In this affair a rebel 
came out of the woods and took deliberate aim at 
Captain Lahue, but was shot down by one of the Cap- 
tain's men before he fired his gun. 

The Henry Rifle Company was placed on the right 
of our line, and commanded by Major McGrain; and 
here the resistance to the advance of the enemy was 
so determined that he was compelled to undertake 
to flank both wings of our httle force at the same 
time. The citizens and other companies occupied the 
center. 

Shortly after the flanking movement commenced, 
the enemy opened fire upon our force with three 
pieces of artillery. The editor of the Corydon Dem- 
ocrat, S. K. Wolfe, Esq., who was in the thickest of 
the fight, thus speaks of this event : 

" The shells made the ugliest kind of music over our heads. 
This shelling operation, together with the fact that our line 
■was about to be flanked on both wings at the same time, made 
it necessary, for the safety of our men, that they should full 
back. This they did, not with the best order, it is true, hut 
with excellent speed. From this time the fight was converted 
into a series of skirmishes. Each man seemed to fight on his 
own hook, after the manner of bushwhackers." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 123 

Before a gun was fired, a strong force of the enemy 
took possession of the plank-road, east of the town, 
for the purpose of intercepting any of our forces that 
might attempt to escape in that way. 

At this time the enemy numbered nearly five thou- 
sand men. Our little force, being overpowered by su- 
perior numbers, fell back to Corydon. The enemy 
then moved forward and planted a battery on the hill 
south of the town, and at once commenced shelling 
the place. Several shells fell in the center of the 
town. Some of them exploded, but did no damage, 
except to the house of Mr. William Howard. The 
cavalry and mounted infantry generally made their 
escape. Seeing that the contest was hopeless for 
our forces, and that to continue the fight would re- 
sult in an unnecessary loss of life and the destruc- 
tion of the town. Colonel Jordan wisely hoisted the 
white flag, and surrendered. This engagement detained 
the enemy about five hours in their march, and thus, 
in an important sense, aided General Hobson in over- 
taking them. 

The losses of the Union force were Kathan McKin- 

zie, Harrv Steepleton, and William Heth, killed. The 
"ll 



124 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

latter was killed in liis own house at tlie toll-gate. 
Jacob FeiTce and Caleb Thomas were wounded, the 
former mortally. About three hundred prisoners v/ere 
taken and immediately paroled. The rebels lost eight 
killed and thirty-three wounded. 

Immediately after the surrender, the rebels marched 
in and took possession of the town. Morgan repaired 
to Mr. Kintner's hotel, wdiere he remained while his 
command occupied Corydon, and spent the time in 
sleeping. Morgan professed to respect private prop- 
erty, but every man found bearing arms, and many 
private citizens, were relieved of whatever money or 
other valuables they had about their persons. Stores 
were broken open, private houses were entered, and 
the rebels freely helped themselves to whatever they 
desired. 

A Corydon paper thus describes the losses of the 
citizens : 

" In the mean time his men commenced pillaging the stores 
of Douglass, Benbo & Co., and Samuel J. Wright. Mr. W. 
was not at home, and they took what they pleased without 
let or hinderance. Mr. Denbo was sent for by Captain Charl- 
ton Morgan, the General's brother, and corjpelled to open his 
store. Every thing in the shape of ready-r lade clothing, hats, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 125 

caps, boots, shoes, etc., was taken, Captain Morgan taking a 
piece of fine gray cassimere, out of whicli to make a suit for 
'John.' For all these goods, amounting in value to about 
$3,500, Mr. Denbo received the surfi of $140 in Confederate 
scrip, some of which was dated as late as May, 1863. Mr. 
Wright's loss was probably somewhat larger than that of Mr. 
Denbo. The drug-store of Dr. Reader, and several other estab- 
lishments, were also relieved of portions of their contents. 
The hardware and drug-store of Slaughter & Slemmons was 
saved, and is said to have been guarded, owing to the influ- 
ence of a relative of Mr. Slaughter in the rebel command. 

" The store of the late Mr. Vance was spared, on the repre- 
sentation that the proprietor had been buried the day before, 
and nothing was taken from it. 

" Upon each of the three flouring-mills in Corydon a levy 
was made of $1,000, to be paid in consideration of Morgan's 
refraining to burn them. The chivalry, however, graciously 
condescended to receive 2,100 in greenbacks in liquidation of 
their claim upon the mill property. 

" The rebels paid no regard to the rights of private citizens 
or families. They robbed Mr. Hisey, Treasurer, of $750 in 
money ; stole all the clothing of Judge F. W. Matthis, except 
what he had on; stole a pair of fine boots from Mr. B. P. 
Douglass, and committed numerous other petty thefts of a 
similar character. They entered private houses with impu- 
nity, ate all the victuals the ladies had cooked for the Home 
Guards, and compelled them to cook more." 



Among the killed, we have named Mr. James H. 
Current and Mr. Harry Steepleton. The latter Avould 
have been in the service in the regular army but for 



126 MORGAN AND tllS CAPTORS. 

his advanced age. They were both members of the 
Legion. The respect in which they were held by 
their officers will be manifest from the following paper : 



" A Tribute of Eespect. — At a meeting of the officers of the 
Sixth Eegiment, Second Brigade, Indiana Legion, at the court- 
house in Corydon, on the 18th day of July, 1863, on motion, 
Lieutenant J. P. Funk was called to the chair. The death of 
James H. Current, who fell in the fight with Morgan's forces, 
opposite Brandenburg, on the 8th day of July, 1863, and that 
of Harry Steepleton, who fell in the battle at Corydon, on 
the 9th day of July, 1863, were announced. 

"On motion of Major Jacob S. Pfrimmer, a committee was 
appointed to draft and report, for the action of the meeting, 
resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting; which 
committee was made to consist of the following persons: 
Major Jacob S. Pfrimmer, Captain John T. Ileth, Lieutenant 
J. P. Funk, and Lieutenant S. M. Stockslager, who afterward 
reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously 
adopted : 

" ^ Resolved^ That, in the death of Lieutenant James H. Cur- 
rent, the Legion has lost a good officer and brave man, and 
the community a worthy and patriotic citizen. 

^'- ^ Resolved^ That, in the death of Harry Steepleton, our 
regiment has lost one of its bravest and most gallant men. 
Being too old to enter the United States service, and too pa- 
triotic to remain idly at home while his country needed his 
aid, he joined the Legion, and rendered valuable service in 
defense of his country. 

" ' Resolved^ That we tender to the families and relations of 
our deceased brother soldiers our sincere condolence in their 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 127 

bereavement, and assure them that the memory of the fallen 
ones will forever be sacredly cherished by us. 

" ''Resolved^ That these proceedings be published in the Cory- 
don Democrat and TJnion^ and that a copy thereof be sent to 
the families of the deceased.' 

" J. P. Funk, Chairman," 

There were a number of interesting incidents con- 
nected with the entrance of Morgan into Cory don, 
some of which will long live among the traditions of 
the place, but will probably never be recorded in his- 
tory. 

We place on record the following : 

^'Before reaching Corydon, with the situation and 
defenses of which they were perfectly famihar, the 
rebels seized Hon. S. K. Wolfe, State Senator, and 
Samuel W. Douglass, County Auditor, who were out 
with the Home Guards, and required them to ride at 
the head of their column, declaring that if they (the 
rebels) were shot at on entering Corydon, they would 
shoot the two gentlemen named. 

"Among the men in the rebel command, the citi- 
zens- recognized one young man who had recently 
spent several weeks in the place, and another who had, 



128 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the day previous, ivorJced on the fortifications hastily 
erected for the defense of the j^lace! In fact, it was evi- 
dent that the country had been thoroughly scoured 
by spies, and the rebels were perfectly familiar with 
the roads, towns, and every thing else that could aid 
them in their raid." 

Many of the citizens of Corydon, having heard that 
General Morgan was a great admirer of fine horses, 
hastily hid all of their best quadrupeds in a dense 
grove not far from the town. A Confederate officer 
inquired of the citizens where the 'thickest woods" 
were, and compelled them to point them out. In a 
short time a squad of rebel soldiers emerged from the 
grove with all the horses. The rebels laughed at their 
owners, and told them that they were "green," and 
not very much accustomed to dealing with Morgan's 
men. Of course Morgan appropriated the horses to 
his own use. 

A squad of Morgan's men suddenly appeared before 
the residence of a highly respectable citizen, Mr. H. B. 
Shields, cashier of the Bank of Corydon, and placed 
a guard at the doors of his house. In the mean time 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 129 

two of their number entered the house, and demanded 
the keys of the bank, in the name of General Morgan, 
and then said : " The General is a gentleman, and 
respects private property." They, however, desired 
to draw on the bank. The keys were given to them, 
but they w^ere informed that Mr, Shields w^as not at 
home, and that all the mon^y had been removed from 
the bank. The cashier, however, having a strong 
desire to see Morgan, returned in time to get a good 
look at him before he left the place, but saved his 
money. 

Colonel Jacob Ferree, one of the Commissioners of 
Harrison County, was dangerously wounded in the 
battle at Corydon. He was in the act of shooting a 
rebel at the time. The ball struck him in the right 
breast and passed out behind the shoulder-joint, mak- 
ing, for a man of his age and fleshy habit, a very 
dangerous wound. But, what is singular about the 
affair, Colonel Ferree also shot and wounded the 
man who shot him, both of the guns firing at the 
same time. The wounded rebel was carried as far 
as Canton, where two citizens, who went there in pur-, 
suit of theii' horses, saw him. The rebel, whose arm 



130 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

was badly shattered, related the circumstance to thenQ 
with such particularity as to leave no doubt that he 
was wounded by Colonel Ferree. 

A Mr. Isaac Lang, of Scott Township, in Harrison 
County, was in the battle of Cory don, and, in his 
retreat, fell dead from his horse. There was not 
the slightest appearance of a wound to be found any- 
where on his body. 

Several of the enemy's wounded were left at Cory- 
don to die. One youth, a native of East Tennessee, 
aged about fifteen years, died in great agony. He 
said, before dying, there were two things which, if 
he could only get them from his mind, he would die 
easily. He did not say what they were. He seemed 
very anxious to see his mother. He frequently stated 
that he did not act as badly as some of his comrades. 
0, the horrors of a guilty conscience ! 

"Conscience notes each moment misapplied 
In leaves more dui^able than leaves of brass; 
Writes our whole history, which death shall read 
In every pale delinquent's private ear, 
And judgment publish — publish to more worlds 
Thau this J and endless age in groans resound." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS, 131 



CHAPTER y 



OBEAT EXCITEMENT IN INDIANA — MORGAN IN INDIANA— THE DESIGN OF THE IN- 
VASION—THE MARCH FROM CORYDON TO SALEM— CAPTURE OF SALEM AND DE- 
STRUCTION OF THE RAILROAD — INTERESTING INCIDENTS — HIS MARCH THROUGH 
THE COUNTIES OF WASHINGTON, SCOTT, JEFFERSON, JENNINGS, RIPLEY, AND 
DEARBORN — MILITARY BLUNDER — GREAT EXCITEMENT AND PANIC IN NORTH- 
ERN ILLINOIS. 



THE capture of Corydon by General Morgan con- 
firmed the previous reports of the invasion of 
Indiana. At once the excitement of the people be- 
came intense, and not less than that produced bj the 
bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter. The effect 
of the invasion, and the action of the people of the 
state and their patriotic Governor is thus described 
in ^'Indiana's Roll of Honor/' an admirable work, 
recently published by the Rev. David Stevenson, 
Librarian of Indiana: 

"When the celebrated guerrilla, Morgan, crossed 
the Ohio into Harrison County, passing thence through 
the south-eastern tier of counties to Ohio, the effect 



132 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

was electrical, nay, seemed the work of magic. It 
was as if some modern Cadmus had sown the fabled 
dragon's teeth over Indiana's forests and prairies ; so 
did these teem with armed men, self-marshaled in de- 
fense of their native or adopted state. 

On Thursday, the 9th of July, 1863, news reached 
Indianapolis that a rebel force estimated to be six 
thousand strong had crossed the Ohio and was march- 
ing on Corydon. Whereupon the Governor instantly 
issued a call to the patriotic citizens of the state 
to leave their various occupations and turn out for its 
defense. Incredible as it may appear, within forty- 
eight hours from the time this call was issued, sixty- 
five thousand men had tendered their services, and 
were on their way to the place of rendezvous; while 
thousands more were preparing, and had to be notified 
to stay at home. Within three days thirty thousand 
men, fully armed and organized, had taken the field 
at various points to meet the enemy." 

The results of these largo military organizations 
were such as to defeat, in part, the plans of Morgan. 
They converted his march into a flight, which carried 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS 133 

him over the eastern border of the state in five days, 
prevented his march into the interior of the s^-ate and 
through the large towns, and finally prevented his at- 
tempted escape across the river mto Kentucky. But 
it is probable that all this only increased the difficulty 
of the pursuit on the part of General Hobson. 

Before proceeding with this narrative, it will be nec- 
essary to inquire what was the design of General Mor- 
gan in invading Indiana and Ohio. It has been said — 
whether on good authority or not, we can not now say — 
that he acted in this matter contrary to his own judg- 
ment, but in obedience to the orders of his superiors, 
and that it had, or was expected to have, an important 
bearing on the invasion of Pennsylvania by General 
Lee. If this supposition is true, then the design of 
the invasion was to prevent reinforcements from reach- 
ing the Army of the Potomac from the Western 
States, by attracting their attention to Morgan's move- 
ments, and by the damage which he might do to the 
railroads leading East. In the mean time he would 
move on through Indiana and Ohio, and finally unite 
with General Lee in Pennsylvania, if he was success- 
ful in defeating General Meade; if he was not, then 



134 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

he would make his escape across the Ohio Kiver into 
the South. 

One of the designs of all of Morgan's raids was to 
check out all the deposits of gold, silver, and "green- 
backs " that might be found in any of the banks that 
came in his way — at least the bankers of Kentucky 
BO regarded it; and hence, whenever his or any other 
part of the Confederate forces invaded the state, those 
who controlled the banks usually sent away, and in 
great haste, all the money in their care. This has 
not been an unfrequent occurrence during the war. 
Morgan undoubtedly knew that as soon as he com- 
menced invading Kentucky, large sums of money 
would be carried to Indianapolis and other points 
north of the river. If, therefore, he could suddenly 
invade Indiana, and capture Indianapohs, he knew 
that he would also capture a very large amount of 
the article that was very scarce and was very much 
needed in the country from whence he came. This, 
no doubt, was one of the objects of the invasion. 

While at Corydon, Morgan, undoubtedly, learned 
of the defeat and retreat of General Lee, and tliis, 
of course, rendered useless any attempt, on his part, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 135 

to form a union with him in Pennsylvania. Within 
the two following clajs he was also informed of the 
movement of troops in Indiana, and of the perfect and 
sudden security of Indianapolis ; and this defeated 
another object of the invasion. From this time Mor- 
gan Vv^as chiefly concerned in efforts to make good his 
escape into the South. 

We will now resume the narrative. Late in the 
afternoon of the same day that Corydon was captured, 
General Morgan marched out of the town, and took 
the direct road leading to Salem, on the New Albany 
and Salem Railroad, passing through Salisbury and 
Palmyra. Not far from the latter place he rested 
his command about two hours. 

On this march, and about six miles north of Cory- 
don, Mr. Speer S. Hurst, fearing he would be cap- 
tured, or in some way injured by the rebels, who had 
come upon him somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly, 
attempted to make his escape. He was commanded 
to halt. This he refused to do, and, consequently, 
was shot. He received a painful, but not fatal wound. 

Morgan's command arrived at Salem the next day, 
July 10, about nine o'clock A. M. Here they burned 



136 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the railroad depot and four or five bridges on the 
road, and appropriated to their own use whatever 
they desired from the stores. They also captured 
part of the force under command of the Hon. Mr. 
Cravens, a Congressman of Indiana, which was at 
Salem, and on the eve of starting by rail to Mitchell, 
for the purpose of procuring arms and ammunition. 
They were all paroled, that is, about one hundred 
men. One of their number, Mr. William Vance, who 
attempted to escape, was shot and severely w^ounded. 
The ball struck him in the back, passed through his 
body, and came out through the middle of his breast. 
In Blue River Township, they shot a German and two 
young men named McKinstry 

A number of incidents occurred, while Morgan was 
at this place, that were quite amusing. 

Morgan levied a black-mail on the millers of Salem, 
and required them to pay him a thousand dollars each, 
or submit to having their mills burned. One miller 
instantly took from his pocket a roll of greenbacks 
and handed it to Morgan, without counting it. Morgan 
gaid to him, "Are you certain there are a thousand 
dollars in the roll?" The miller rephed he thought 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 137 

there was that amount. Morgan then carefully 
counted the money, and found that the roll contained 
twelve hundred dollars. He then took from it tvro 
hundred dollars and handed them back to the miller, 
and, at the same time, stretching himself to his full 
altitude, and looking sternly at him, said : "• Here^ 
take these hack; do you think I would rob you of one 
cent?'' 

A squad of three rebels, at Salem, went to the 
stable in which was the splendid stallion Tempest, 
owned by Mr. George Lyman, of New Albany. On 
entering the stable. Tempest gave the first rebel a 
furious kick, which sent him heels over head in the 
rear. On the other two he made demonstrations with, 
his teeth, which kept them at bay. An officer then 
went off, swearing that he would bring a squad of men 
which could take him. He started for the new squad 
of men, but, in his absence, the groom jumped on the 
back of Tempest, rode away in a gallop, and soon 
passed beyond the rebel lines. The animal was Tal- 
ued at one thousand dollars. 

Mr. William Clark and another man were sent out 
south of Salem, for the purpose of learning what the 



138 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

pickets had heard of the coming rebels. They fell in 
with the enemy, some of whom proposed to trade 
horses. The two men swapped horses with them over 
twenty times, and one of them came out with a better 
horse than he began with. They both said it was the 
greatest day of horse-trading they ever had. 

It has been said that the rebels, having captured 
Mr. Rike, allowed him to depart with his horse on 
finding him to be a preacher. This was not the case. 
Mr. Rike was captured while trying to escape up the 
Salem road with liis horse. He happened to fall into 
the hands of Colonel Morgan, who professed to pro- 
tect him ; but, after awhile, his saddle was taken from 
him, the Colonel saying: "Parson, I am very sorry, 
but we must have every thing that will help us along." 
He saved his horse, from the fact that, when Morgan's 
regiment left him, there happened to be an interval 
between his regiment and the next one, and Mr. Rike 
had time to get his horse into the woods and conceal 
him. Morgan kept Mr. Rike at the house of a Mr. 
Hendrix, three miles beyond Salisbury. He told him, 
on retiring to rest, that he had not heard a prayer for 
some time, and that he (Rike) must pray. Mr. Rike 



MORaAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 139 

complied, saying that prayer was always a suitable 
exercise to engage in. His object, probably, was to 
Bee if lie would pray for the Union. 

In Clark County there was found a man who, think- 
ing to save his horse, professed to be a Southern 
Rights man. Morgan told him he ought to be willing 
to do something for them, and asked what he would 
give to have his horse spared. He answered, "Forty 
dollars," which was paid ; but, to the sympathizer's 
chagrin, the horse was taken also. 

Morgan marched through the counties of Harrison, 
Washington, Scott, Jefferson, Jennings, Ripley, and 
Dearborn, of Indiana. After marching from Salem, 
he passed through the villages of Canton, New Phila- 
delphia, Centerville, and Yienna. The latter place 
is on the Jeffersonville and Indianapolis Railroad. 
After doing what damage he could to the railroad, and 
plundering the stores to his heart's content, he moved 
on rapidly to Lexington, Hindsville, Paris, and Du- 
pont. The latter place is on the Madison and In- 
dianapolis Railroad. A correspondent of a Cincinnati 
journal gives the following interesting account of the 

visit of Morgan and his command to Dupont : 
12 



140 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

"In statements of the Morgan raid througli this 
part of Indiana, it is claimed that the noted horse-thief 
and his men crossed the Madison and Indianapolis 
Railroad at Vernon, in Jennings County. This is a 
mistake. Neither Morgan nor his men were in Ver- 
non. About six or seven o'clock on Saturday even- 
ing, July 11, Morgan's whole force w^as halted on the 
road between this place and Vernon. A small force 
was sent to the vicinity of Vernon to reconnoiter. 
They sent in a flag of truce, demanding the surrender 
of the place. This was refused, and the rebels were 
fired upon by the citizens, and one of them killed. The 
rebels then retreated, rejoining the main body. The 
whole force then pushed on to this place, where they 
arrived and encamped about ten or eleven o'clock. 
They soon commenced their work of destruction on 
our railroad. The telegraph was cut — a portion of 
the railing torn up — the water-tank, warehouse, and a 
train of some ten or twelve cars, partly loaded, were 
burned. The bridge over Big Creek, one and a half 
miles south of this place, was also burned. The stoie 
and pork-house of F. F. Mayfield were broken open 
and robbed ; the former of clothing, boots, shoes, etc., 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 141 

to the amount of sixteen to seventeen hundred dollars, 
the latter of two thousand canvased hams. Other 
stores were opened and robbed of small amounts. 
With the exception of relieving our citizens of their 
horses, robbing corn-cribs, wheat-fields, etc., I have 
heard of no other gross depredations committed by 
them in our place. 

''In their intercourse with our citizens, thej were, 
to a certain extent, civil and courteous. Some excep- 
tions to this rule may, however, be mentioned. The 
great John himself did not exhibit that chivalry which, 
in some quarters, has been claimed for him. He se- 
lected for his head-quarters the residence of Mr. 
Thomas Stout. The family of Mr. Stout had retu^ed, 
but were ordered to vacate their beds ; this done, they 
were soon occupied by Morgan and his staff. Mrs. 
Stout and her daughters were commanded to go to 
work and prepare breakfast for the crowd, and have 
it ready precisely at four o'clock. Mr. Stout was 
told to stir himself and see that every thing v/as pre- 
pared in the best manner, and, under the penalty of 
death, to awaken his guests precisely at four. Mr. 
Stout, thinking, perhaps, that obedience would be 



142 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Conducive to good health, obeyed to the letter. After 
partaking of a bountiful repast, the great chief or- 
dered his entertainer to set out immediately, Avith 
his advance-guard, as a guide. Mr. Stout meekly 
intimated that, as he had spent the night in preparing 
for the comfort of his guests, and had eaten nothing 
himself, it would not, perhaps, be too much to ask the 
privilege of taking a bite before starting. He was, 
however, informed that his present well-being required 
immediate and prompt action. He was at once placed 
on an old, sharp-backed horse, without a saddle, and 
started on a long trot. After traveling some twelve 
miles, Mr. Stout informed his captors that his knowl- 
edge of the roads extended no further. He was then 
permitted to dismount, a sorer if not a wiser man, and 
find his way home on foot as best he could. 

" In all Mr. Stout's troubles and trials, one pleasing 
sensation would occasionally flit across his bewildered 
brain. Morgan had promised to reward him liberally 
for all his troubles ; but his visions of greenbacks and 
golden eagles w^ere not reahzed. The renowned chief 
had forgotten his promise. 

"About eight o'clock on Sunday morning, the rear- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 143 

guard of Morgan's gang left Dupont. ^Te captm-ed 
thi-ee prisoners not two hundred yards behind the 
rear-guard. 

"At one o'clock P. M., on Sunday, the advance-guard 
of Hobson's cavaky hove in sight. From this time 
till seven or eight in the evening, when the last of the 
Union soldiers passed, our citizens were wild, almost 
frantic, with excitement. 

" Morgan took a north-east course from Dupont, 
passing through Versailles, Moore's Hill, etc. 

" Dupont is on the Madison and Indianapohs Rail- 
road, fourteen miles north-west from Madison; ten 
south-east from North Yernon, where our road crosses 
the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad; and eight from 
Yernon proper. 

" My house was honored with the presence of some 
thirty or forty rebel guests. Myself and family were 
treated with respect. Nothing but food was de- 
manded, and payment was tendered by several of 
them. They appeared to have plenty of gold, silver, 
and greenbacks. One of the rebels very cordially 
invited me to make a visit at his house, 'when this 
cruel war is over.' I gave it as my opinion that his 



144 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

chances for getting home, to receive company, were 
rather slim. He replied, saying he supposed I would 
be pleased to hear that he and all his comrades were 
killed or captured. I assured him he was correct in 
his supposition. ' I like your honesty,' was the rebel's 
reply. One of them expressed great disgust at ^North- 
ern sympathizers.' Said he, ' If they sympathize with 
the South,\ why do n't the dirty, cowardly traitors 
come and fight for us?' Upon the whole, I think 
some good will result from Morgan's raid through 
Indiana and Ohio. V. MiLHOUS." 

From Dupont, Morgan's command proceeded to 
Bryansburg, and through Versailles, Pierceville, Mi- 
lan, Weisburg, Hubbell's Corner, New Alsace, Dover, 
Logan, and Harrison. The state line between In- 
diana and Ohio passes through the last-named town, 
about twenty miles from the city of Cincinnati. He 
crossed the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad at Pierce- 
ville, and the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Railroad at 
Weisburg, and did considerable damage to them, by 
tearing up the rails, burning depots, bridges, and 
water-tanks. 



MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 145 

Morgan was in the state five days, from the time he 
landed on the Indiana shore, opposite Brandenburg, 
July 9, until he crossed the state line at Harrison, 
July 13. The distance which he traveled was about 
two hundred miles. His average march was forty 
miles per day. This raid and the one made by Colo- 
nel Grierson, of Illinois, through the state of Missis- 
sippi, are without any parallels in history. 

It was thought that Morgan would attempt to 
escape into Kentucky at or near Lawrenceburg, which 
is situated on the north bank of the Ohio River, 
twenty-five miles below Cincinnati. If such were his 
intentions, they were defeated by the presence of the 
state militia at that place. Morgan learned that a 
military force was stationed at Lawrenceburg, and was 
fully apprised of the fact that General Hobson was 
vigorously pursuing him ; also, that there was a con- 
siderable force in and near Cincinnati. He could 
not, therefore, fail to discover that, if he should be 
detained a few hours by the force at Lawrenceburg, 
the result would be that his command would be cap- 
tured. Hence, he moved on with all possible speed 
into Oliio, and thus deprived the militia at Lawrence- 



146 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

burg of an opportunity of measuring steel "with him. 
Unfortunately, they found an opportunity in another 
quarter, as will be seen from the following extract 
from a newspaper : 

" One of those sad blunders which often attend first 
military experience, of friends mistaking each other 
for enemies, occurred at Lawrenceburg, Ind., on Tues- 
day night. A report was started that Morgan's forces 
were returning and approaching the place, whereupon 
two companies belonging to Colonel Shryock's Indiana 
regiment were sent out, about seven o'clock in the 
evening, to reconnoiter in different du-ections. When 
two miles distant they met, and each took the other 
for the enemy, and began firing. The result was, that 
before they discovered their mistake, seven men were 
killed and twenty wounded. Among the latter was 
Judge Gooding, of Hancock County, formerly a Sen- 
ator. His wound is serious, though, it is hoped, not 
fatal. These same brave boys brought in four pris- 
oners, whom they found worn out and straggling on 
the road ; but, instead of being Morgan's men, they 
turned out to be General Hob son's ! " 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 147 

We have already spoken of the great excitement 
produced in Indiana by Morgan's raid. It is also 
proper to state that tlie excitement extended even to 
Illinois, and was manifested, especially, at a point at 
least four hundred miles remote from Morgan's near- 
est approach, among a prosperous, highly respectable, 
and godly community of the sons of " Auld Scotia." 
The following account of this amusing affair is taken 
from the Rock River Democrat: 

"We are told that the Scotch settlement in the 
town of Harlem, in this county, was the scene of quite 
a scare one night, about ten days since. It appears 
that, about a week before the great raid of Morgan into 
Indiana, a young couple had concluded to harness to- 
gether for life, and accordingly were hitched by proper 
authorities. The boys in the neighborhood, not being 
well organized, were not in the right trim to give the 
happy pair a good, old-fashioned charivari at the time, 
so it was delayed for about a week, at which time, being 
fully equipped with guns, pistols, horns, bugles, drums, 
and bells, they repaired, at rather an unseemly hour, 

to the residence of the newly-made man and wife. 
13 



148 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

And now comes the fun of the affair. Some of the 
neighbors, hearing the terrible din which the crowd 
made with their instruments and guns, and having 
read of Morgan's raid into Indiana and Ohio, con- 
ceived the ridiculous idea that he had cleared out 
those two states and had made a descent upon Illinois, 
and had reached their doors on his way to Lake Su- 
perior. The screams of the boys, in their dehght at 
the fine time they were having, were tortured into 
death-agonies of a murdered family, and straightway 
all was confusion and fright among a few families who 
lived near the scene of the charivari. Strong, ath- 
letic men, we are told, made tall tracks for cornfields, 
in which themselves and families took refuge from 
Morgan's murderers, expecting every moment to see 
their homes in flames. One sturdy fellow was re- 
minded to take care of a fine pair of horses he had 
in the barn, when he excitedly exclaimed, ' De'il take 
the horses; let's look out for our own necks!' An- 
other, hearing, as he supposed, the death-agonies of 
some poor fellow, groaned out, ' Dinna ye hear the 
screech? Its awfu', fearfu', dreadfu'! Ah! mon, but 
he 's a lang time o' deeing.' 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 149 

"Many, doubtless, were the exclamations of affright 
which escaped from those seekers after safety in corn- 
fields, where they lay until the god of day illumined 
the east, and satisfied them that their homes, property, 
and lives had escaped general destruction at the hands 
of the great raider." 



150 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 



CHAPTER YI 



IHF. PROCLAMATION OP GOVERNOR TOD — MORGAN IN OHIO— PATRIOTISM OF THB 
PEOPLE — THE STATE MILITIA — AN INCIDENT RELATED BY MORGAN — MORGAN 
AT HARRISON— DESTROYS THE RAILROAD— AT EAST SYCAMORE— AT CAMP DEN- 
NISaN — AT BtTFFINGTON ISLAND — INCIDENTS. 



AS soon as the patriotic Governor of Oliio, Gov- 
ernor Tocl, learned that the intention of Morgan 
was to march through that state, he at once issued a 
call for all able-bodied men in the southern part of 
the state to form themselves into military organiza- 
tions, and to repair promptly to designated camps, 
and there to be formed into regiments and brigades. 
The alacrity Anth which the people obeyed the call 
exhibited undoubted proof of the loyalty of the ma- 
jority of the people of that noble state. Few, indeed, 
were the numbers that hesitated to obey the call of 
the Governor. Men closed their stores, workshops, 
and offices, left the bench and harvest-field, and 
marched with lawyers, doctors, judges, and ministers 
of the Gospel, to resist the armed invaders and home 



MOEGAIS AND HIS CAPTORS. 151 

traitors. Not very many, liowever, of the thousands 
^yho volunteered for this service, had the opportunity 
of firing a gun at Morgan and his soldiers. They, how- 
ever, Avere of great service in protecting various places 
in the state, and if they had been thoroughly organ- 
ized and well-drilled soldiers, they might have been the 
captors of Morgan. But new and inexperienced mi- 
litia can not successfully fight, or capture, a man of 
Morgan's foxy character. An officer who was in the 
command of General Hobson says: 

"Morgan was not detained one hour, in his march 
through the greater part of Ohio, by the militia; 
not from want of patriotism among the people, but 
from the utter surprise and panic caused by his sud- 
den appearance along their highways. The militia 
was concentrated at the larger towns and cities, and 
Morgan, informed by his scouts and spies, had only to 
avoid those places and pursue his course. The peo- 
ple, through fear, even fed and wa.tered his troops 
without any delay, and thus enabled him to outmarch 
us upon the fresh horses stolen from the country for 
five miles on each side of his line of march. The 



152 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

country, thus robbed and stripped of horses, necessa- 
rily prevented us from keeping equal pace with him. 
But never on earth has there been a more enthusiastic 
reception of troops than we received all through In- 
diana and Ohio — hundreds, yes, thousands, of people 
giving up their last morsel of provisions to aid us in 
overtaking the invader, while thousands of beautiful 
young ladies and enthusiastic matrons and children 
handed us water and bread as we passed their doors. 
It was one grand cheering procession, urging us for- 
ward and enlivening our march. We gathered a few 
horses also, by order of the General, and gave receipts 
for them ; and some, no doubt, were pressed by the 
soldiers without leaving any receipt. Notwithstanding 
all our efforts to keep up the command, more than 
five hundred men were left on the line of march with- 
out horses to mount in place of their exhausted ones." 

"We relate the following as illustrative of the fore- 
going statements. While on the journey to Cincin- 
nati, Morgan said to General Shackelford that he could 
"v^hip all the militia in the states of Indiana and Ohio, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 153 

and that he had captured and paroled thousands of 
them. He stated that on one occasion, only a day or 
two before his capture, he entered a small town, in- 
quired for the authorities, introduced himself as Gen- 
eral Shackelford, stated to them that he had fought 
Morgan twice the day before, defeating him each time ; 
that his men were very much exhausted and hungry, 
and that if they could get something to eat soon, and 
some fresh horses, he thought he could catch Morgan 
before night. The citizens promptly furnished him 
not only with an abundance of substantial food, but 
also with luxuries. The captain of the miUtia in that 
place sent runners in every direction for horses, and 
mounted two hundred of the militia, and started out 
with the supposed General Shackelford in pursuit of 
Morgan. After marching about two miles, Morgan 
remarked that he was sorry that he had to undeceive 
them, but he must inform them that he was Morgan. 
He then ordered them to dismount, paroled them, took 
their horses, and moved on. 

It is wise policy, in times of war, to have the state 
militia well organ'zed swid drilled. Had this been done 



154 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

in season, Morgan could never have marched from 
one end of Ohio to the other. But we must drop this 
subject and resume our narrative. 

Morgan's command entered the town of Harrison, 
on the western border of the state, on Monday even- 
ing, the 13th of July. The following morning the 
raid through the state of Ohio commenced. During 
the next twenty-four hours the line of his march was 
around the city of Cincinnati, and at no period of that 
time was he more than twenty miles distant from the 
city. He tore up the railroad at Milford, crossed the 
Little Miami at Miamiville, made an attack on Camp 
Dennison with a small part of his force, destroyed a 
train on the Little Miami Railroad, and then made a 
rapid march toward Maysville, Ky., with the evident 
design of crossing the river at that point, if it was 
practicable. 

The following correspondence, taken from a Cincin- 
nati journal, will give to the reader an entertaining 
account of Morgan's raid while in Hamilton County, 
and events connected therewith; 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 155 

" East Sycamore, Hamilton 



^ON County, Ohio, ^ 
''JuhjTl, 18G3. I 



"There was a sound of cayalry at dawn. 

And sudden springing out of pleasant beds, 

As Morgan's 'rebs' came galloping upon 

These roads, in quest of horses swift and fine. 

A thousand fists were doubled up, and when 
Horses came out of each man's stable-door, 

Mad eyes flashed fire to eyes, etc. 

" You are aware that we have seen them ; enter- 
tained them (unwiUmgly) in our houses ; that our sta- 
bles have been plundered; that a part of the harvest 
remains in the field, without horses, except the jaded, 
sore-backed, bony, lame ones, which Moi'gan traded 
us, to bring it to the barns. On Tuesday, the 14th 
instant, at early dawn, the inhabitants hereabout were 
aroused from slumber by the clattering of hoofs upon 
the stony pike, and the clanking of stirrups (I sup- 
pose, as I didn't see any sabers or the like). On 
peeping through the window, I recognized them im- 
mediately as secesh, from their hard looks, their 
clothes of many colors and fashions, and their man- 
ner of riding. They did not ride in any kind of 
order, unless it was disorder. As many as could, rode 
abreast. Some galloped, some trotted, and others 



156 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

allowed their horses to walk slowlj while they slept 
in the saddles. They were not uniformly dressed- 
Some wore a whole suit of the well-known blue which 
designates our soldiers ; others had part of a suit, but 
most of them were arrayed in citizens' garb. Some 
were barefooted, some bareheaded, and one, I no- 
ticed, w^ore a huge green vail. Probably he was 
ashamed of his company, and took this method to 
conceal his grim visage while in the i^resence of de- 
cent people. Some wore jackets outside of their 
coats, as though they had dressed in a hurry. Perhaps 
their keen ears had detected the sound of Hobson's 
cavalry behind. Some had ladies' gaiters, dress-pat- 
terns, and the like, protruding from their pockets ; and 
one bootless, hatless, shirtless being held his suspend- 
erless pants with one hand, wiiile he held the bridle 
with the other, and heeled his horse to a gallop. 

"Well, I had not continued my rehel-gazing long 
before one of them dismounted and wanted 'yester- 
day's paper, if you please.' I could n't see it ! Very 
Boon the house, yard, barn, and fields were overflowing 
with ' Southern chivalry.' They were evidently very 
tired and sleepy, and, judging from their questioiis to 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 157 

each otlier, *How far do you think the blue-jackets 
are behmd?' I should say as much frightened as 
we were. ^ How far is it to Cincinnati ? ' and ^ Have 
you yesterday's paper?' were the principal ques- 
tions asked. In some houses of this vicinity, they 
turned over beds, peeped into cellars, cupboards, 
drawers, closets, and even babies' cradles, in search of 
arms, ammunition, ^ greenbacks,' and sich, while others 
were not disturbed. They helped themselves very 
liberally to such eatables as could be found, besides 
ordering the women to prepare more. Of course, they 
took horses. They just gobbled up every body's, ex- 
cept — well, perhaps his were lame, blind, or fractious. 
Generally, they made no distinction between the prop- 
erty of Copperheads and that of ' Abolitionists,' as they 
call all unconditional Union men. 'Cause why? They 
eitber did not know their friends, or else they consid- 
ered the Northern Butternuts beneath the respect of 
Southern rebels, horse-thieves, freebooters, guerrillas, 
or whatever else they may call themselves. The main 
body, as you already know, passed through Glendale 
on Monday night, or at an early hour on Tuesday 
morning, and from thence to Sharonville. They did 



158 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

not pass through Reading, as was stated in Wednes- 
day's issue of the Commercial, but struck the Plainfield 
pike, about one mile south of Sharonville, which they 
followed about three miles ; then, taking the dirt road 
east, by the Mount Carmel Church, to the Montgom- 
ery pike, one-half mile south of the village of Mont- 
gomery, they passed through that town, inviting them- 
selves to horses and breakfast, as they did elsewhere. 
"A young farmer, George McGee by name, residing 
near Montgomery, made a brilliant dash among them, 
fired, and diglitly killed one, though not altogether! 
Another farmer, Mr. Landenburg, residing near Sha- 
ronville, fired upon them, and wounded one of their 
number. He was captured, but released after having 
eyijoyed a ride of a few miles with the ^chivalry.' 
Most persons in this part of the world considered dis- • 
cretion the better part of valor, and held their temper 
until the last invader had vanished. Like a sudden 
clap of thunder came Morgan among us, and passed off 
to the east like a meteor, leaving the natives gazing 
after him in stupefied horror, rubbing their eyes, and 
wondering whether it was all the dream of a night- 
mare, or a reality. Quite a number of men and boys 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 159 

followed in Morgan's train — ^keeping a safe distance 
behind, however — hoping to recover their stolen horses. 
One old Pennsylvania Dutchman, who resides in this 
neighborhood, by some means, lost but one of his 
horses ; he mounted the other and hastily pursued the 
flying secesh. A¥hen near Batavia, he mingled a lit- 
tle too closely with them, as may be proved from the 
fact that they took the horse he rode, with saddle and 
bridle. It is told that he gave vent to his enraged 
feelings by saying to the ' reb ' who took his horse : 
' That is my horse ; I wish him good luck ; I wish he 
preak your neck!' 'What's that?' thundered secesh. 
'I wish my horse good luck; I wish he preak your 
neck!' repeated the candid German. 'Reb' rode on. 
It is said that certain Butternut individuals, whom 
I might name, shouted for Yallandigham, and ' Glory 
to God, Morgan 's come ! ' on the approach of the reb- 
els — all of which I can not positively assert to be true. 
" To sum up the whole thing, Morgan's aim was 

evidently not fight, but horse-stealing. 

''Union." 



160 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

" Camp Dennison, Ward 19, July 22. 

"During the period of several days prior to Tues- 
day, Colonel Neff, the military commandant of this 
post, anticipated a visit from the bandits, and took the 
necessary precaution to have rifle-pits constructed 
upon the different approaches to the camp. There 
being rumors on Monday evening of the near approach 
of Morgan, early on Tuesday morning, the 14th, Col- 
onel Neff dispatched a company of axmen on the road 
leading from Glendale to Milford, passing the lower or 
south end of the camp, for the purpose of felling two 
or three hundred trees a little beyond the rifle-pits, 
about three miles from the camp, which served the 
double purpose of obstructing the road and forming a 
protection to the rifle-pits. 

" At the same time all the convalescents capable of 
bearing a gun, numbering about six hundred, who 
were previously armed and each furnished with twenty 
rounds of cartridges, were posted on the hill south- 
west of the hospital, at points commanding the road, 
to dispute the passage of the rebels into camp, in the 
event of their forcirg a passage over the abatis and 
rifle-pits. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 161 

" Simultaneously with the completion of the abatis 
bj the company of axmen, or engineer corps, the van- 
guard of the rebel marauders made their appearance, 
and, finding the route impracticable, or attended with 
great difficulty, retreated, passing around the west 
side of Camp Dennison, and through Miamiville, about 
a mile above the Colonel's head-quarters, while the 
main body of the rebels crossed the railroad about 
two miles further up, tearing up the track, burning 
a train, etc. 

"It was evidently the intention of the marauders 
to pass through Milford, it being the nearest and most 
direct route to Camp Shady, three miles east of this 
camp, for the purpose of capturing the government 
mules, about twelve hundred in number, and burning 
the government wagons. Colonel Nefi* had ordered 
the transportation of the mules and wagons to Cin- 
cinnati for safety, very wisely anticipating the designs 
of the rebels. The train commenced moving about 
three o'clock A. M., and continued until after eleven 
o'clock A. M., passing through Milford; and had it 
not be^n for the foresight and precaution of the com- 
manding Colonel, in the ^'^^m'^^^al of the government 



162 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

property and constructing of tlie rifle-pits and abatis^ 
thereby obstructing their passage through Milford, the 
marauders would have intercepted the long train of 
teams in their passage, appropriated the mules and 
burned the wagons, as they did, in the afternoon, forty 
or fifty they found at Camp Shady, in consequence 
of the Colonel not being able to procure a sufficient 
number of teamsters. 

"Between seven and eight o'clock in the morning, 
information having been received at head-quarters 
that the rebels were above here, measures were 
adopted by Colonel Neff to guard the northern passes, 
and, if possible, to protect the Little Miami Railroad 
bridge, by arming and detailing the state militia, who 
we/-o constantly arriving, one company of whom was 
posted at the bridge; and a squad of convalescent 
soldiers crossed the bridge and engaged with the 
rebels in a skirmishing fight immediately south-east 
of the bridge, on an open woodland on the river hill. 
The skirmishing continued from eight o'clock until 
eleven A. M. The rebel loss was six killed and sev- 
eral wounded, one of whom has since died. Our loss 
was one convalescent soldier killed. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 163 

" The horse of one of the rebels was shot under him, 
and having fallen on him, and being unable to ex- 
tricate himself, he was captured and brought to head- 
quarters a prisoner. Six others were captured and 
brought in; one of whom was made a prisoner and 
brought in by four contrabands, who were jubilant 
over the achievernent, having, in their estimation, im- 
mortalized themselves, and rendered their names im- 
perishable in the history of the rebellion. 

" This skirmish, together with the appearance of a 
large force in the rear, in all probability saved the 
railroad bridge from destruction, and the eastern (or 
military) division of the camp from a raid by the rebel 
bandits. 

" At an early hour in the morning Colonel Neff put 
into operation all necessary preliminary measures, 
upon the event of the rebels effecting an entrance, by 
sending to Cincinnati articles of value from the camp, 
among which were the surgical instruments and ex- 
tensive articles of medicine from the drug-store, the 
important records, the contents of the post-office of 
value, the iron safe from the hospital head- quarters, 

contaming a large amount of money belonging to sol- 
14 



164 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

diers and others, etc. The public can not but accord 
to Colonel Neff great credit for the energy and effi- 
ciency with which he used the limited means at his 
command, for the defense and protection of govern- 
ment property and Camp Dennison. 'Give honor to 
whom honor is due.' J. L. Myers, 

" Camp Dennison, Ward 19." 

Little else occurred during the march of Morgan 
through Ohio that is worthy of a record in this work, 
until the battle of Buffington Island. An account of 
this battle and some other matters of the raid will be 
found in the following letter, and will be read with in- 
terest. We, however, will inform the reader, that a 
fuller and more authentic account of this affair and the 
subsequent events of the raid will be found in the 
sketches of Morgan's capture, which follow : 

' Parkersburg, West Va., July 21, 1863. 
" Having just returned from a little trip to see the 
elephant, in the shape of John Morgan and his gang, 
I avail myself of a few leisure moments to tell you 
what was seen. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 165 

** About noon, of Saturday, the citizens of this 
place were startled Avith the intelligence that Morgan 
was at Coolville, distant about fourteen miles. Cap- 
tain Barringer, C. S., A. A. Q, M., and, at that time, 
commanding officer of the post, being desirous to learn 
the truth of the report, furnished fresh horses, and, 
with the man who brought the rumor, I started on a 
scout. A quick ride of seven miles brought us to the 
mouth of Little Hocking, where Lieutenant W. Cor- 
vine, of Gen Cox's staff, was stationed, in command of 
about eight hundred militia, guarding the ford at the 
foot of Blennerhassett Island. Here we learned that 
the rumor had no foundation, and, having made a 
short stay, we rode on to Coolville, where we met 
scouts who reported positively that, after some skirm- 
ishing near Pomeroy, Morgan was advancing on that 
road, and was not, probably, more than fifteen miles 
distant. 

" A messenger was dispatched to Readville, with an 
order from Lieutenant Corvine, to remove all baro;es 
from the Ohio shore to a point three miles below, on 
the Virginia side. We then started to meet other 
scouts, who, we learned, were coming on the road- 



166 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ahead of us. Just before reaching Tuper's Plains 
we saw a smoke rising from the direction of Chester, 
and met scouts who were fired on by the rebels en- 
tering that place. The road between Coolville and 
Chester had been well barricaded by felling trees in 
all the hollows, where it would be impossible to pass 
at the side with artillery or wagons. These barricades 
would each have detained the enemy a half hour or 
more in removal, and would thus have been so much 
time gained by our forces in pursuit. 

" Going within four miles of Chester, we met other 
scouts who reported Morgan en route to Buffington, 
having just left the former place after a halt of an hour 
and a half. They had burned a bridge and mill on 
leaving, and seemed to have a perfect knowledge of all 
the roads barricaded, and the surrounding country. 
"We then turned our horses' heads for Coolville, where 
we arrived about eight o'clock P. M. About midnight 
scouts came in, reporting our advance as having passed 
through Chester in pursuit, and that the rebels had 
halted near Buffington. 

" At daybreak, Sunday, we mounted and started to 
join our forces, if possible, and be present during the 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 167 

battle, should they come up with the enemy. We had 
little fear of Morgan's crossing the river, as we knew 
of several gun-boats on the look-out for them there. 
Hurrying rapidly forward, we reached Chester as the 
last of Shackelford's division was passing through. 
'^ " Rapid cannonading was distinctly heard from the 
front, but as none of Shackelford's artillery had come 
up, we knew it was from the gun-boats and the artil- 
lery under Hobson, who, wdth Judah, had cut across 
to the river, and, in conjunction with the gun-boats, 
w^ere defeating Morgan's attempts to cross at Buffing- 
ton Ford. Shackelford's division, having advanced on 
the road taken by the rebels, rendered their retreat 
impossible, unless they scattered and found their way 
out of the woods in small squads. It must be borne 
in mind that there was no road up the river, and their 
only chance of escape in that dkection was by run- 
ning the gantlet of the gun-boats in going along the 
river shore. Forcing our tired horses to their best, 
we reached the field of Shackelford's operations just 
in time to witness a splendid saber charge made by 
two refyiments, the number of which I do not know, 
under the command of Colonel Wolford. 



168 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

" The ground was very hilly and thickly "vvooded, 
with but few open fields. The rebels were formed to 
resist the charge, but as the perfect line in which our 
boys advanced dashed on them, they broke and scat- 
tered like sheep, without firing a shot. Owing to the 
nature of the ground where this division was engaged, 
the battle was, with the exception of the charge men- 
tioned, almost a continual skirmish. 

^' The First Kentucky Cavalry were in the woods, 
constantly sending prisoners to the rear. About 
half-past ten o'clock A. M., w^ord was brought that 
the rebels were advancing in force up the road. The 
artillery not having arrived, General Shackelford sent 
back, ordering it up at double-quick, and formed the 
rest of his division in a line somewhat advanced from 
his former position. We had learned of the capture 
of all the enemy's artillery, by the forces under Hob- 
son and Judah, at the river. In the early part of the 
day one of our pieces had been captured by the rebels, 
which was retaken with all theirs. 

''A few minutes after the line was formed, a flag, 
of truce was discovered coming from the wood on the 
other side of the clearing, opposite where we were 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 169 

awaiting their advance. General Shackelford rode on 
to meet it, and when within a few yards, waved it 
back, shouting, 'I will accept of 7io terms hut un- 
conditional surrender.' The flag-bearers immediately 
wheeled and rode to the point from whence they came. 
Nothing more occurred until the tramp of a large 
body of horse could be heard coming on the road 
toward us, and a moment afterward the rebels emerged 
from the woods, quietly riding up to our lines, and, 
filing by in front, were disarmed, dismounted, and sent 
to the rear. Three regiments, or all that was left of 
them — for they barely averaged a hundred men each — 
were thus taken prisoners. We had now about four 
hundred in all, taken by Shackelford's division — ^Dick 
Morgan, a brother of John, and Major Elhott, Mor- 
gan's Staff Commissary, being among the captured. 
Colonel Cole, his Inspector-General, was taken by our 
troops at the river. Elhott is a Pennsylvanian by 
birth, but has long resided in the South. In a con- 
versation I afterward had with him, he stated that he 
was not an original secessionist, but, after the ordi- 
nance had passed, had gone into the army from a 
sense of duty, believing their cause was right. But a 



170 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

few moments before, he had burned fifty -five thousand 
dollars of Confederate scrip, retaining about twelve 
hundred, which he handed to Colonel Jacobs. I heard 
it said that Dick Morgan wept like a child at being 
captured, but can not vouch for the truth of the re- 
Drt. 

" Where they entered the road from the woods the 
ground was strewn with sabers, pistols, and dry goods 
enough to almost stock Shillito or Hopkins.. They 
had taken all the greenbacks they had, and, tearing 
them up, scattered them around, for fear our men 
would search them — a policy they always practice. 
Some of them were searched; and a rebel captain, 
going up to General Shackelford, asked him if such 
proceedings were countenanced by him. ' No, sir,' was 
the reply. ' It is in direct disobedience of orders, 
notwithstaTiding you authorized it at Lohanon,^ The 
captive 'reb' walked off in silence. 

" Their cartridge-boxes were searched, and found 
empty, some of their ammunition having been thrown 
away, though they were undoubtedly short of it. The 
remainder of the force was scattered through the 
woods in all directions, trying to make their way out. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 171 

Scouts coming in reported a force of about fifteen hun- 
dred, mostly got together from the small squads wan- 
dering about, making their way toward Tuper's Plains , 
An order being received from General Hobson for the 
prisoners to be sent to the river, a sufficient guard was 
left for that purpose, and the division moved to inter- 
cept their retreat. The prisoners acknowledged their 
forces as utterly demoralized and seeking escape. 
Many of them were anxious to surrender, and I heard 
them say they only cared to get away, that they might 
remain north of the Ohio River, where, they say, they 
have passed through the best country they ever saw. 
The force reported w^as under command of Morgan 
himself, who was evidently using every exertion to 
avoid another fight with our troops. 

" Taking a short route through Adams's Mills, we 
reached Tuper's Plains to find the rebels two miles 
nearer the river, on a road about a mile east. Our 
artillery had advanced with the Forty-fifth Ohio, and 
taken a position Avithin a mile of them. The command 
advanced at double-quick, and halted as they came up 
to the artillery. Some two hundred and fifty mounted 

militia, armed with rifles and shot-guns, had joined ua 
16 



172 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

at Adams's Mills, and were ordered to advance on a 
road diverging from our position in a south-easterly 
direction. A reconnoissance by the General and a 
small body of troops discovered the picket of the 
rebels, some two hundred strong, posted about half a 
mile from our forces. Scouts were sent out, and, on 
their return, reported the main body some half-mile 
further on, at a point where the road was intersected 
by the Humphrey's Ford road, and south-west of us. 
Immediately on the receipt of this intelligence. Gen- 
eral Shackelford proceeded to dispose his troops in 
such a manner as to render the ultimate capture of 
the whole force certain, should they remain but an 
hour longer in their present position. Scarcely, how- 
ever, had the first order been given, when a heavy dust 
on the Humphrey's Ford road announced their de- 
parture. It was then after sundown, and, in the full 
knowledge that he could not cross the river, and the 
fact that our troops had traveled all the night before, 
men and horses being alike worn out, General Shackel- 
ford gave the order to sleep on arms, a,nd be ready to 
continue the pursuit at daybreak the next morning. 
"About one o'clock A.M., scouts came in, report- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 173 

ing that, after a short halt at Humphrey's Ford, Mor- 
gan had taken a road leading two miles east of Tup- 
er's Plains, and gone on tovfard Athens. A force 
was immediately ordered in pursuit. Short!}' after 
daybreak the scouts reported that he was then at 
Fish's Mills, four miles north of us, and had turned 
toward the river in the direction of Wilkesville, Pome- 
roy, or Racine, either of which fords he could reach, 
had they not been sufficiently protected. But tliis was 
not what was wanted, for, although it was certain he 
could not cross at either place, his capture was the 
main thing, and the whole division was immediately 
started in pursuit. 

" Our horses being thoroughly i^orn out, we were 
compelled to turn them tovr^ard home, which we did 
with much reluctance. Yv^e had experienced much 
kindness from General Shackelford aud staff, as well 
as from Colonels Wolford and Jacobs, and the other 
officers whom we met. They all, as well as their men, 
desire the capture of Morgan as much as miy citizen 
-^f Ohio. They have followed him, without rest, for 
twenty-three days, and have no thought of abandoning 
the pursuit until its object is accomplished. DiC€ " 



174 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

With the following incidents we close this chipter: 
Lieutenant Adams, of Morgan's band, with a squad 
of his confederates, after burning a bridge north of 
Palem, went to a Quaker farmer's house, and asked 
for some milk. The Friend demurely accompanied the 
Lieutenant to the spring-house, and told him to help 
himself and his men. While drinking the milk, the 
following conversation occurred : 

Lieut. Adams. "You're a Quaker, ain't jou?" 
Friend (very soberly). "Yea." 
Lieut. A. "Then, you're an Abolitionist?" 
Friend (more soberly than ever). "Yea." 
Lieut. A. (fiercely). "A stanch Union man?" 
Friend, (emphaticalh^). "Yea." 
Lieut. A. (after a pause). "Got any Butternuts 
around here ? " 
Friend. "Yea." 

Lieut. A. "Then, why don't you hang them? We 
have a way of choking such people down our w^ay ! " 



The following incident is a striking contrast of that 



j list related : 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 175 

^'When the advance-guard of Morgan's rebel cavalry 
were in the vicinity of Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio, 
on the morning of Saturday, July 18, they committed 
a deliberate and most unprovoked murder on the p'^r- 
son of Dr. William N. Hudson, a venerable citizen, 
aged seventy-four years. The circumstances were 
briefly as follows : Dr. Hudson had just returned from 
secreting his horse, when he heard a neighbor, under 
the influence of liquor, shouting and making some 
disturbance, and immediately started to quiet him. 
While on his way across the field, he heard the clatter 
of horsemen on the road, and, turning to look, was in- 
stantly shot down, the ball passing through the groin 
and thigh, breaking the bone at the joint. From 
this wound he died on the following Wednesday. 

^'Dr. Hudson had no weapons about his person, and 
had for years kept none. Bent by age and infirmity, 
he could have made no serious resistance, had he been 
so disposed ; yet these evident facts secured him no 
mercy at the hands of the murderers. 

" During the two hours that the advance-guard 
rested near Dr. Hudson's, the rebel heutenant who 
ordered him shot was in the house with others, ran- 



176 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOFwS. 

sacking it for valuables, wliile liis victim lay panting 
for life. Seeming to think some apology for liis bar- 
barity needful, he remarked that 'he didn't know he 
\Yas such an old man.' One asked of Dr. Hudson's 
granddaughter: ' You are all Aholitionists here, are n't 
you ? ' The question suggested the probability that 
a notorious Copperhead of that county, who was a 
willing guide for Morgan, had pointed out Dr. Hudson 
as a suitable person on whom to vent their murderous 
spleen. 

''Dr. Hudson was born in Goshen, Conn., in 1789, 
and, when a lad of ten years, came with his father to 
the Western Reserve, to the present town of Hudson, 
Summit County. About 1812 he returned to the East, 
and took a thorough course of medical study. This 
profession he successfully pursued during the rest of 
his life — a period of more than fifty years. He was 
characterized by unimpeachable integrity and firmness 
of purpose. He knew no fear ; opposition and perse- 
cution served but to confirm him in the practice of 
the right and the advocacy of the truth. Long before 
the origin of the old Liberty Party he was an Aboli- 
tionist; and, when that party originated, he voted that 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 177 

ticket alone, in Manchester, Adams County, Ohio, amid 
threats of violence to his person and property. Be- 
lieving in the inalienable right of human beings to 
* life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' he never 
failecf to befriend the fugitive from bondage, and to 
guide him toward the North Star. .Being thus, for a 
long period, a living witness against popular sins in 
Church and State, it seems not inappropriate that he 
should providentially suffer martyrdom at the instiga- 
tion of the vile demon of slaveholding, which he had so 
long fought. His death was peaceful and happy. For 
months previous, his letters breathed the spirit of one 
ripe for heaven, and his dying message to his absent 
sons was ^to meet him there.' 

"Dr. Hudson's will contains one noteworthy provis- 
ion. It is this : that, after the death of his wife, one- 
half the proceeds of his estate shall be paid into the 
Treasury of the United States, provided that slavery 
shall, at that time, have been abolished in al: parts of 
this land. 



178 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE PURSUIT AND CAPTURE OF MORGAN — HIS IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE. 

¥E find a description of the pursuit and capture 
of Morgan in the Louisville Journal of October 
14, 1863. This general description presents a striking 
word-picture of these events, and, for this reason, we 
copy it in these pages. The author participated in 
the pursuit and capture, and was, therefore, competent 
to write as he has on this subject. For a fuller and 
more particular description, the reader is referred to 
the sketches of Morgan's captors, which follow in this 
work : 

" Though time has passed since the raid of Morgan 
into the states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, and 
his subsequent capture, I have thought that a short 
history of the pursuit would not be uninteresting to 
your readers. About the 20th of June I received or- 
ders from Brigadier-General Hobs on to have my regi- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 179 

ment in readiness to leave Columbia for Tompkinsviilo 
at a moment's notice. Well convinced, by experience, 
of the importance of Columbia as a position to defend 
Kentucky from a threatening enemy who was on the 
south bank of the Cumberland, I freely expressed to 
the General my fears of going so far as Tompkins- 
viilo. I said : ' We are throwing open a gate of ninety 
miles ; Morgan is making a femt to draw us off; the 
moment he succeeds he will cross at Burksville, pass 
through Columbia, capture Colonel Hanson and his 
command, and, if he has the courage, will capture the 
city of Louisville and sack it before we can retrieve 
our error and overtake him.' General Ilobson fully 
coincided with me as to the error of the movement, 
but had to obey the order, as it came from a superior 
in point of position. Frequently on our march did 
we expiess our fears, and predict what did take place, 
from leaving so long a line exposed. On his own re- 
sponsibility, he left his infantry at Ray's Cross-roads 
to defeat, if possible, any attempt of the enemy to 
cross at Burksville, being well convinced that he would 
attempt to cross the Cumberland at that point. With 
his cavalry he occupied Tompkinsville. Here, I sup- 



180 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

pose, General Judah, seeing his error, ordered him 
back to Marrowbone, still nearer to Burksville than 
the Cross-roads. The unnecessary and useless march 
had much decreased the efhciencj of our cavalry. On 
tlie second day of July I Avas ordered by General Hob- 
son to send two hundred men, under a competent 
officer, if possible, to go into Burksville. I sent Cap- 
tain Hardin, an officer I had every confidence in. 
They soon fell in mih the pickets of the enemy, and 
drove them six miles. Being overwhelmed here by 
superior forces of the enemy, they were forced to re- 
treat, fighting all the way back, often hand to hand. 
A courier requested me to form in line of battle. I 
had only some ninety men with me, the rest being all 
on duty. The retreating men galloped gallantly into 
line when they came up, and, with a shout, w^e dashed 
on the enemy, w^ho soon gave way. They made three 
desperate dashes at our short line, but a well-directed 
fire drove them back each time. After this, a few well- 
directed shots from the battery gave them a final re- 
pulse. Three of my men, whose horses gave out on 
the retreat, were forced to surrender, and, after that, 
were brutally shot. Two of the three died. 



MORaAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 181 

"General Hobson, now convinced that the enemy 
were in force at Burksville, dispatched a courier to 
Brigadier-General Shackelford, whose command was 
at the Cross-roads. With great alacrity this efficient 
officer brought his command forward. Early the next 
morning they started a strong command of infantry, 
cavalry, and artillery to a point on the Burksville and 
Columbia road. A courier was dispatched to Briga- 
dier-General Judah, informing him of what had been 
done. He immediately, on reception, started another 
courier, ordering the force, started in the morning, 
back. The command was immediately obeyed, and 
thus was Morgan saved from having his command cut 
in two and captured on the banks of the Cumberland. 
In the mean time Morgan had passed on to Columbia, 
where a most gallant defense was made by Captain 
Carter with one hundred and fifty men of Wolford's 
regiment. Forced to retire, after the loss of their 
gallant leader, they gave warning to Colonel Wolford 
Morgan then attacked Colonel Moore, at the Green 
River bridge, who had only a few hundred men with 
him, but sufficient to gain a glorious victory on the 
anniversary of our national birthday. Marching on 



182 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

after their repulse, they attacked Colonel Hanson and 
his regiment. After a most glorious defense, worthy 
of Kentuckians, they were forced to surrender to ten 
times their number. In the mean time General Hob- 
son had commenced his pursuit, after being delayed 
many hours. We started on the 4th of July, and 
rode all day and night. Being encumbered with a 
wagon-train, the roads wretched, and the night dark, 
we only made five miles in ten hours. As it was 
my time to guard the train, I felt sorely tempted to 
have a glorous bonfire. You might as well start a 
tortoise to catch a rabbit as a command with a train 
to catch John Morgan. 

"The next morning General Hobson left the in- 
fantry, wagons, and artillery, and proceeded with his 
cavalry. We rested from four o'clock P. M. until 
eleven o'clock P. M., then marched the balance of the 
night. At daybreak we fell in with Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Shackelford with his cavalry and part of his ar* 
tillery, and then continued our march to Lebanon, 
where we fell in with Colonel Wolford and his brigade. 
Here General Hobson received orders from General 
Burnside to assume full command over Wolford, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 183 

Shackelford, and his own cavahy, and pursue Morgan 
until he was overtaken. Marched from Lebanon on 
our way to Bardstown in pursuit, until one o'clock 
A. M Slept two hours, and started again at three 
o'clock A. M. At night we were forced to stop until 
we could procure rations by the Louisville and Nash- 
ville Railroad. Started again in pursuit early on 
Tuesday. Eound that the enemy were going toward 
Brandenburor with the evident intention of invadinoc 
Indiana. By night we were within nine miles of 
Brandenburg. The General wishing to cooperate with 
the gun-boats, and make a night attack, proceeded 
with a small escort to Rock Haven. We found the 
gun-boats had gone up the river. It was nearly 
one o'clock A. M. before we returned. Finding the 
men overcome with fatigue and want of sleep, and 
almost impossible to arouse, he concluded, reluct- 
antly, to wait until daybreak. We reached the river 
as the last boat-load of the enemy had crossed. The 
enemy burned one boat; the other was dispatched to 
]iOuisville to obtain others to aid us in crossing. The 
St. Louis, which was at Rock Haven, a few miles 
above, came down, and we commenced crossing. By 



184 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

night we had quite a fleet, and were occupied until 
morning in crossing. We marched all day Wednes- 
day, witnessing burned mills and houses by the Van- 
dal enemy; also, the scene of the skirmish with the 
Indiana militia. The towns were thronged with an 
excited people, who received us with joyous acclama- 
tions. We marched till a late hour in the night, and 
then up again before daylight. Here our new com- 
missary department was started. The ladies met us 
every-where with abundant provisions, and cheered us 
on with patriotic songs. If it had not been for their 
timely and efficient aid in supplying food for the men, 
it would have been impossible to have overtaken the 
enemy; and to the patriotic women of Indiana and 
Ohio a large share is due of the honor of taking the 
energetic and untiring Confederate chieftain. Nor 
w^ere we fed with a sparing hand. The magnificent 
hospitality and the kind and open greeting did away 
with the prejudices of false traditions of Yankee stin- 
giness, and many a brave Kentucky youth surren- 
dered at discretion to the warm greeting and sweet 
smiles of the fair daughters of Indiana and Ohio. 
The broad state of Indiana is passed, her brave 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 185 

militia swarm from every road to aid in catching the 
wily foe, but still the guerrilla chieftain keeps ahead. 
Sweeping the horses from both sides of the road, and 
leaving us his own broken-down ones, the advantage 
is greatly in his favor. But the untiring and indefat- 
igable leader of the expedition, General Hobson, and 
the chivalric Shackelford, and the patient, enthusiastic 
Wolford, and all the glorious leaders of the Ohio, 
Michigan, and Tennessee regiments, with their un- 
tiring men, w^ere sleepless in their determination to 
overhaul and destroy the rebel command. 

^'Not a man dreamed of failure. Horse after horse 
broke down. Men marched day and night to try 
and keep up with their command, hoping that they 
v\'ould in some way become possessed of a horse or a 
mule, by which they could rejoin their* comrades and 
aid in catching the rebel force. Some would fail, but 
I have known of others who would walk nearly three 
days and nights, and then come in, with radiant face, 
upon some cast-off horse of the enemy. Others 
v»ould fail to obtain an animal to proceed, but would 
make their way to Cincinnati, report to head-quarters, 
and eventually, under the gallant Rue, had the honor 



186 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

of capturing the great chieftain himself. With such 
spirit and such determination it was impossible not to 
succeed. We make a circle around Cincinnati, never 
more than thirteen miles from the city during the 
long day's journey. Days and weeks have passed, 
but still the rebel chieftain keeps about the same dis- 
tance ahead. When will the people ahead aid us? 
Why do they not barricade all the roads? But the 
rebel chief flies so fast that they have not time. At 
last the trees are felled: the enemy's speed is checked. 
With renewed hope we continue the pursuit. Bridges 
were burned, but the patriotic people have temporary 
new ones built, and we pursue without delay. For 
nearly twenty days and nights we have been in the 
saddle. We are only a few hours behind the enemy. 
We ride all night; men, for want of rest, stagger in 
their saddles; hope has almost fled, except from a few 
gallant leaders, who still continue to cheer and en- 
courage their men. 'Cheer up, men; we will soon 
have him : he has run into a rat-trap with but one 
opening, and that we have.' 'We would rather see 
than believe.' Still the patient leaders would say, 
*Have faith; by twelve o'clock we will have him;' but 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 187 

the exhausted men had lost hope, when lo! the dis- 
tant boom of the cannon is heard. Every man is in- 
stantly full of life : the long-expected triumph is at 
hand. After seven hundred miles of pursuit we are 
about to meet the enemy in deadly grapple, and every 
man is more than ready for the issue. Boom I boom ! 
boom ! go the cannon ; even the Aveary and dejected 
horses are inspirited, and move with greater energy. 
We approach closer and closer. At last we receive 
an order from Greneral Hobson, who had pushed far 
ahead with the advance, to fall back to a cross-road, 
AS the enemy are trying to retreat in that direction. 
We about face, but, from the thick undergrowth, armed 
aien press into our lines. Mistaken for militia, one 
of the officers jokingly says: 'Are 3^ou Butternuts?' 
' Yes, sir.' Astonished at the quick reply, he says : 
' Are you rebels ! ' ' Yes, sir.' ' Are you John Mor- 
gan's men ? ' ' Yes, sir.' ' Then be so good as to throw 
down your arms;' and down they go. One young 
lieutenant rides up to a Federal officer and inquires, 
^What command is this?' 'My friend, I guess you 
are in the wrong pew. This is Colonel Jacob's com- 
mand.' ' I guess as how I am,' is the cool reply, aa 
16 



188 MOEGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

he surrenders. We soon form in line of battle. The 
Confederates press on. The Federals, confident of 
victory, shout, ^ Come in, come in ! ' Some, astonished, 
obey. Others press back, when the men, with finger 
on trigger and faces aglow with eagerness, are given 
word to fire. Almost with a simultaneous bang, off go 
the guns, and many a Confederate falls beneath that 
concentrated fire. The gallant Wolford orders the 
charge; with drawn sabers the gallant First and 
Eighth Kentucky Cavalry rush to the conflict. The 
enemy fled before the resistless move. A flag of truce 
is sent in, offering to surrender. Unconditional sur- 
render is demanded. It is accepted, and soon we have 
hundreds of Morgan's band, with Colonel Dick Mor- 
gan, marching before us as prisoners of war. They 
are marched to the river and shipped. We have no 
time to tarry; Morgan has escaped. Yv^e pursue. 
That night we rest. The enemy passed toward day. 
By General Hobson's orders, General Shackelford pur- 
sues. Colonel Wolford commands one brigade. I am 
assigned to the command of the other. Over hill and 
dale we pursue. We gain on them. We take some 
prisoners. Our advance is in constant skirmish with 



MDRGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 189 

their rear-guard. We approach nearer and nearer ; 
our skirmishers are thrown forward on the right and 
left ; the bullets fly thick and fast. The enemy take 
a strong position. General Shackelford, to save 
blood, if possible, sends in a flag of truce, and de- 
mands surrender. They demand an hour to consider ; 
forty minutes is given. The result is a surrender of 
a thousand men and horses. 

^' In the pursuit we traveled nearly sixty miles in 
about eight hours, but still the guerrilla chieftain is not 
taken. During the pendency of the negotiations for 
surrender, he slipped off, deserting his men. The next 
morning General Shackelford organizes an expedition, 
taking our best horses, and again pursues the fleeing 
foe. A week passed; several hundred miles more are 
cleared. Morgan approaches Pennsylvania. Major 
Rue, of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, commanding 
detachments of the Ninth and Eleventh Kentucky 
Cavalry, and stragglers from different regiments, 
freshly mounted and sent ahead by order of General 
Burnside, on the cars, come up in the nick of time. 
Two roads come to a common road. The struggle ia 
which shall arrive first. Morgan leads. Kue, almost 



190 MORGAN AND HIS CAPIORS. 

despairing, pursues him. Seeing a road leading off, 
almost by intuition he asks of a bystander : ' Does that 
road come into this one again, and is it nearer to 
the point where they approach than the main road?* 
' It does, and is much nearer.' With renewed hope, 
he dashed off, and ran in ahead about a hundred and 
fifty yards, and rapidly formed a line of battle. Mor- 
gan, with his usual audacity, sends in a flag of truce, 
and demands an unconditional surrender. Rue indig- 
nantly informs the messenger that he does not belong 
to the militia, that he can be deceived in that manner; 
tlmt he is a Major of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, 
and that if Morgan does not surrender at once he will 
fire upon him. The officer replied, with an oath, that 
the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry was every-where. Mor- 
gan, finding he could not impose on Rue by the flag 
of truce, tries another dodge. He now informs him 
that he had already surrendered to some Ohio militia 
captain, and that he had paroled them. This captain 
was a captive in Morgan's hands. He informs Mor- 
gan that he will pay no attention to any such surren- 
der, and that he will hold him and his command until 
liis superior, General Shackelford, arrives. In about 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 191 

one hour the General makes his appearance, and then 
Morgan surrenders, and thus ends the most remark- 
able chase known in history. As the leader of the 
expedition, Brigadier-General Hobson, for his quick 
comprehension, untiring energy, and unfailing amia- 
bility and kindness to all his subordinates, deserves all 
praise. If permitted to have acted according to his 
own judgment, he would have stopped Morgan's 
career on the banks of the Cumberland. Foiled in 
this, he starts in pursuit, and never stops in that pur- 
suit until he brings his foe to bay. Brigadier-General 
Shackelford, and Colonel Wolford, also, deserve the 
highest praise ; and, indeed, where all did theu* duty, 
from the highest to the lowest, it appears almost in- 
vidious to mention names. 

" The gun-boats at Buffington were of the greatest 
service in preventing the Confederates from crossing, 
and in shelling the woods. I am informed by eye- 
witnesses that their artillery practice was beautiful. 

*^ Thus has ended, at least for the present, the career 
of John Morgan. By the untiring energy and indom- 
itable courage of the devoted band who pursued him, 
Kentucky this day has peace. The pursuit developed 



192 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

cue fact — tlie impossibility of overtaking and heading 
a cavalry force, under a bold and sagacious leader, left 
to his own fertile resources. The great difficulty the 
Federal officers have to contend with is, the large 
number of excellent cavalry the Confederates have. 
Largely outnumbering ours, at least until recently, 
they swarm in front of their armies, fifty, sixty, and 
even a hundred miles, obtaining every intelligence, 
while preventing any from being obtained in regard 
to the position, number, or times of destroying rail- 
roads, bridges, and communications from one point to 
another, and cutting off necessary supplies. Our cav- 
alry officers hitherto have had great difficulties to 
contend with. Half armed, and always outnumbered 
greatly, many times fractions of regiments have had to 
fight whole brigades of the enemy. This is becoming 
now more equal. But what we want particularly, in- 
dependent of the cavalry that should remain with the 
great armies, is from eighty to one hundred thousand 
cavalry, in squads of from five to ten thousand, di- 
vided into mounted infantry and regular cavalry, with 
some artillery, under glorious leaders, who have the 
brain to conceive and the nerve to execute, with no 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 193 

telegraph wires from head-quarters. If we had such a 
force in the field at the present time, under competent 
leaders, we could strike at the very vitals of the so- 
called Southern Confederacy, and bring them to terms 
in less than ninety days. All the railroads in the South 
could be destroyed, and kept so. Every state, unless 
it might be Texas — and that, also, if we had infantry 
as a nucleus — could be desolated. If asked where 
you could sustain such a force, the answer is re-ady : 
just as Morgan and the Confederate cavalry sustain 
theirs — off of the country invaded. Such a force 
would break up all communication and prevent the 
rapid concentration of one rebel force to sustain an- 
other, which came so near being disastrous to McClel- 
Ian in the seven days' fight near Richmond, and lately 
against Rosecrans. The enemy could not meet such 
a force. Their present cavalry would be abundantly 
employed by our regular cavalry, and they have 
neither the men nor the horses to organize such a 
body of cavalry. We have both; and the sooner we 
employ them, the sooner this unhappy war will be 
terminated. Richard T. Jacob, 

"Colonel of the late Ninth Kentucky Cavalry." 



194 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

When the capture of Morgan was announced, there 
was great rejoicing all over the country ; and George 
D. Prentice suggested that a salute of one gun be fired 
before every stable-door in the land ! 

j^iter the capture, General Shackelford proceeded 
with Morgan and several of his officers to Cincinnati, 
and delivered them to General Burnside. From Cin- 
cinnati they were sent to the state prison at Colum- 
bus, and there remained until the night of November 
the 27th, when General Morgan and six of his con- 
federates made their escape. 

The names of the prisoners who escaped with Mor- 
gan are as follows: Captain J. C. Bennett, Captain S. 
B. Taylor, Captain Ralph Sheldon, Captain L. H. 
Plines, Captain L. D. Hokersmith, Captain G. S. Ma- 
gee, Colonel Dick Morgan, and the six captains who 
were confined in the lower range of cells. By means 
of two small knives, they dug through the floors of 
their cells, which is composed of cement and nine 
inches of brick-work. Underneath the cells is an air- 
chamber, extending the whole length of the building. 
Of this fact the prisoners seemed to have been aware. 
Once in the air-chaixbor, one of them could crawl to 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 195 

its terminus and dig down in tlie soft earth with his 
knife until the bottom of the foundation of the wall 
was reached; then, digging out under, the thing was 
completed. Meanwhile, ropes had been manufactured 
of the bedticking, and all arrangements were com- 
plete for their final escape. Every thing being in 
readiness, only a little strategy was necessary for the 
escape of General Morgan. He occupied a cell on 
the second range, just over the one occupied by his 
brother Dick. 

When the prisoners were being locked up for the 
night, the Morgans were allowed to exchange cells 
with each other. After Dick had seen every thing 
prepared, he permitted his brother John to take his 
place. Some time during the night the prisoners 
crawled through the hole they had dug under the wall, 
but had skillfully concealed, taking their rope with 
them. They escaped from the prison immediately be- 
tween the main building and the female department. 
Once in the yard, and their escape was comparatively 
easy. They went to the south-west corner of the 
outer wall, near the big gate, and threw their rope 

over the top, where it secured itself on one of the 
17 



196 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

spikes. On this rope, and by the aid of some timbers 
near at hand, they clambered to the top, and easily 
descended on the outside. There are no guards en 
the outer walls after a certain hour. The prisoners 
were dressed in citizens' clothes, and not in prison 
habiliments. 

Captain Hines had charge of the work which re- 
sulted in the escape of the prisoners. 

A note w^as left for the warden of the prison, of 
which the following is a copy : 

" Castle Meroin, Cell No. 20, November 20, 1863. 
"Commencement, November 4, 1863. Conclusion, Novem- 
ber 20, 1863. Number of hours for labor per day, three. 
Tools, two small knives. Laj^atience estamer^ maisson fruit est 
doux. By order of my six honorable Confederates. 

" Henry Hikes, Captain, C. S. A," 

The excitement was very great, especially in the 
states of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, when it was 
known that Morgan had escaped. A reward of one 
jhousand dollars w^as oiFered for him, dead or alive. 
Various reports were in circulation as to the direc- 
tion he had taken. Some persons supposed he wouLl 
escape by way of Canada. Many of the houses of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 197 

Columbus were searched, hoping to j&nd him secreted 
somewhere in the city. But all search was vain; 
nothing could be heard of him that was reliable. The 
men who searched for him looked' as blank as if he 
had vanished, or had been translated. Days passed by, 
and no intelligence of Morgan was received from any 
quarter. At length, a Richmond paper was received, 
which announced the arrival of the great chieftain at 
the rebel Capital, and the fact that he was honored 
with a splendid ovation. The same paper, the Rich- 
mond EnqidreVy gave the following very interesting 
account of Morgan's escape, as it was received from 
his own lips: 

"Their bedsteads were small iron stools, fastened to 
the wall with hinges. They could be hooked up or 
allowed to stand on the floor, and, to prevent any sus- 
picion, for several days before any work was attempted, 
they made it a habit to let them down and sit at their 
doors and read. Captain Hines superintended the 
w^ork, while General Morgan kept watch to divert 'no 
attention of the sentinel, whose duty it was to come 
round during the day ard observe if any thing was 



198 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

going on. One day this fellow came in while Hoker- 
smith was down under the floor boring away, and 
missing him, said, ' Where is Hokersmith ? ' The Gen- 
eral rephed, 'He»is in my room, sick,' and immedi- 
ately pulled a document out of his pocket and said to 
him : ' Here is a memorial I have drawn up to for- 
ward to the government at Wasliington ; what do you 
think of it?' 

"The fellow, who, perhaps, could not read, was 
highly flattered at the General's condescension, took it, 
and very gravely looked at it for several moments be- 
fore he vouchsafed any reply. Then, handing it back, 
he expressed himself highly pleased with it. In the 
mean time Hokersmith had been signaled and came 
up, professing to feel very unwell. This sentinel was 
the most difficult and dangerous obstacle in their 
progress, because there was no telling at what time 
he would enter during the day, and at night he came 
regularly every two hours to each cell, and mserted 
a light through the bars of their doors, to see that 
they were quietly sleeping, and frequently, after he 
had completed his rounds, he would slip back in the 
dark, with a pair of India-rubber shoes on, to listen 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 199 

at their cells if any thing was going on. The Genera] 
sajs that he would almost invariably know of his pres- 
ence by a certain magnetic shudder which it would 
produce ; but, for fear that this acute sensibility might 
sometimes fail liim, he broke up small particles of coa] 
every morning and sprinkled them before the cell- 
door, which would always announce his coming. 

''Every thing was now ready to begin the work; 
so about the latter end of October they began to bore. 
All were busy — one making a rope-ladder, by tearing 
and twisting up strips of bedtick, another making 
Bowie-knives, and another twisting up towels. They 
labored perseveringly for several days, and, after 
boring through nine inches of cement and nine thick- 
nesses of brick placed edgewise, they began to won- 
der when they should reach the soft earth. Suddenly 
a brick fell through. What could this mean? What 
infernal chamber had they reached? It was imme- 
diately entered, and, to their great astonishment and 
joy, it proved to be an air-chamber, extending the 
whole length of the row of cells. Here was an un- 
expected interposition in their favor. Hitherto they 
had been oblio'cd to conceal their rubbish in their bed- 



200 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ticks, each day burning a proportionate quantity of 
straw ; now tliey had room enough for all they could 
dig. They at once commenced to turn at right angles 
with this air-chamber, to get through the foundation ; 
and day after day they bored; day after day the blocks 
of granite were removed, and still the work before 
them seemed interminable. 

"After twenty- three days of unremitting labor, and 
getting through a granite wall of six feet in thickness, 
they reached the soil. They tunneled up for some 
distance, and light began to shine. How glorious was 
that light I It announced the fulfillment of their labors, 
and, if Providence would only continue its favor, they 
would soon be free. This was the morning of the 26th 
day of November, 1863. The next night, at twelve 
o'clock, was determined on as the hour at which they 
would attempt their liberty. Each moment that inter- 
vened was filled with dreadful anxiety and suspense, 
and each time the guard entered increased their ap- 
prehensions. The General says he had prayed for 
rain, but the morning of the 27th dawned clear and 
beautiful. The evenino; came, and clouds besfan to 
gather. How they prayed for them to increase ! If 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 201 

rain should only begin, their chances of detection 
would be greatly lessened. While these thoughts 
"vrere passing tlu'ough their minds, the keeper entered 
with a letter for General Morgan. He opened it, and 
what was his surprise, and, I may say, wonder, to find 
it from a poor Irish woman of his acquaintance in 
Kentucky, commencing : ' My dear Ginral, I feel cer- 
tain you are going to try to get out of prison ; but, for 
your sake, don't you try it, my dear Ginral. You 
will only be taken prisoner agin, and made to suffer 
more than you do now.' 

" The letter then went on to speak of his kindness 
to the poor when he lived at Lexington, and concluded 
by again exhorting him to trust in God and wait his 
time. What could this mean ? No human being on 
the outside had been informed of his intention to 
escape, and yet, just as all things were ready for him 
to make the attempt, here comes a letter from Win- 
chester, Ky., advising him not to ' try it.' This letter 
had passed through the examining office of General 
Mason, and then through the hands of the lower 
officials. What if it should excite their suspicion, and 
cause them to exercise an increased vio;ilance? The. 



202 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

situation, however, was desperate. Their fate could 
not be much worse, and they resolved to go. Nothing 
now remained to be done but for the General and 
Colonel Dick Morgan to change cells. The hour ap- 
proached for them to be locked up. They changed 
coats, and each stood at the other's cell-door with his 
back exposed, and pretended to be engaged in making 
up their beds. As the turnkey entered, they 'turned 
in,' and pulled their doors shut. 

" Six, eight, ten o'clock came. How each pulse 
throbbed as they quietly awaited the approach of 
twelve ! It came ; the sentinel passed his round — all 
well. After waiting a few moments to see if he in- 
tended to slip back, the signal was given — all quietly 
slipped down into the air-chamber, first stuffing their 
flannel shirts and placing them in bed as they were ac- 
customed to lie. As they moved quietly along through 
the dark recess to the terminus where they were to 
emerge from the earth, the General prepared to light 
a match. As the lurid glare fell upon their counte- 
nances a scene was presented which can never be for- 
gotten. There were crouched seven brave men who 
had resolved to be free. They were armed with Bowie- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 203 

knives, made out of case-knives. Life, in their con- 
dition, was scarcely to be desired, and the moment 
for the desperate chance had arrived. Suppose, as 
they emerged from the ground, that the dogs should 
give the alarm — they could but die. 

" But a few moments were spent in this kind of 
apprehension. The hour had arrived, and yet they 
came not. Fortunately — yes, providentially — the night 
had suddenly groAvn dark and rainy; the dogs had 
retired to their kennels, and the sentinels had taken 
refuge under shelter. The inner wall, by the aid of 
the rope-ladder, was soon scaled, and now the outer 
one had to be attempted. Captain Taylor (who, by 
the way, is a nephew of old Zack), being a very active 
man, by the assistance of his comrades, reached the 
top of the gate, and was enabled to get the rope over 
the wall. When the top was gained, they found a rope 
extending all around, which the General immediately 
cut, as he suspected it might lead into the warden's 
room. This turned out to be correct. They ihen 
entered the sentry-box on the wall and changed th(;ir 
clothes, and let themselves down the wall. In sliding 
down, the General skinned his hand very badly, and 



204 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

all were more or less bruised. Once down, they sepa- 
rated — Taylor and Shelton going one way, Hoker- 
smith, Bennett, and McGee another, and General Mor- 
gan and Captain Hines proceeding immediately toward 
the depot. 

'^ The General had, by paying fifteen dollars in gold, 
succeeded in obtaining a paper which informed him 
of the schedule-time of the different roads. The clock 
struck one, and he knew, by hurrying, he could reach 
the down train for Cincinnati. He got there just as 
the train was moving off. He at once looked in to 
see if there were any soldiers on board, and espying 
a Union officer, he boldly walked up and took a seat 
beside him. He remarked to him that, ^as the night 
was dark and chilly, perhaps he would join him in a 
drink.' He did so, and the party soon became very 
agreeable to each other. The cars, in crossing the 
r)cioto, have to pass within a short distance of the 
Penitentiary. As they passed, the officer remarked- 
' There 's the hotel at which Morgan and his officers 
are spending their- leisure.' ^Yes,' replied the Gen- 
eral, ' and I sincerely hope he will make up his mind 
to board there during the balance of the war, for he 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 205 

is a great nuisance.' When the train reached Xenia, 
it was detained by some accident more than an hour. 
Imagine his anxiety, as soklier after soldier would pass 
through the train, for fear that when the sentinel 
passed his round at two o'clock their absence might 
be discovered. 

''The train was due in Cincinnati at six o'clock. 
This was the hour at which they were turned out of 
their cells, and, of course, their escape would then 
be discovered. In a few moments after, it would be 
known all over the country. The train, having been 
delayed at Xenia, was running very rapidly, to make 
up the time. It was already past six o'clock. The 
General said to Captain Hines : ' It is after six. If 
we go to the depot we are dead men. Now or never.' 
They went to the rear and put on the brakes. 'Jump, 
Hines ! ' Off he went, and fell heels over head in the 
mud. Another severe turn of the brake, and the Gen- 
eral jumped. He was more successful, and lighted on 
his feet. There were some soldiers near who re- 
marked: 'What in the h — 1 do you mean by jump- 
ing off the cars here ? ' The General replied : ' What 
in the d — 1 is the use of my gomg into town when 



206 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

I live here ? and, besides, what business is it of 
yours ? ' 

" They went immediately to the river. They found 
a skiff, but no oars. Soon a little boy came over, and 
appeared to be waiting. 'What are you waiting for?' 
said the General. ' I am waiting for my load.' ' What 
is the price of a load?' 'Two dollars.' 'Well, as 
we are tired and hungry, we will give you the two 
dollars, and you can put us over.' So over he took 

them. 'Where does Miss live?' 'Just a short 

distance from here.' ' Will you show me her house ? ' 
'Yes, sir.' The house was reached; a fine breakfast 
was soon obtained, money and a horse furnished, a 
good woman's prayer bestowed, and off he went. From 
there, forward through Kentucky, every body vied 
with each other as to who should show him the most 
attention, even to the negroes ; and young ladies of 
refinement begged the honor to cook his meals. 

" He remained in Kentucky some days, feehng per- 
fectly safe, and sending into Louisville for many h'tle 
things he wanted. Went to Bardstown, and found a 
Federal regiment had just arrived there, looking for 
him. Remained here and about for three or four days, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 207 

and then struck out for Dixie — sometimes disguising 
himself as a government cattle contractor, and buying 
a large lot of cattle ; at other times, a quarter-master, 
until he got to the Tennessee River. Here he found 
all means of transportation destroyed, and the bank 
strongly guarded; but, with the assistance of about 
thirty others, who had recognized him and joined him 
in spite of his remonstrances, he succeeded in making 
a raft, and he and Captain Hines crossed over. His 
escort, with heroic self-sacrifice, refused to cress until 
he was safely over. He then hired a negro to get 
his horse over, paying him twenty dollars for it. The 
river was so high that the horse came near drowning, 
and, after more than an hour's struggling with the 
stream, was pulled out so exhausted as scarcely to be 
able to stand. 

" The General threw a blanket on him and com- 
menced to walk him, when, he says, he was seized 
w^ith a presentiment that he would be attacked, and 
remarking to Captain Hines, ' We will be attacked in 
twenty minutes,' commenced saddling his horse. He 
had hardly tied his girth, when ' bang, bang,' went the 
Minie balls. He bounced on his horse, and the noble 



208 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

animal, appearing to be inspired vfith new vigor, 
bounded off like a deer up the mountain. The last 
he saw of his poor fellows on the opposite side, they 
were disappearing up the river bank, fired upon by a 
whole regiment of Yankees. By this time it was dark, 
and also raining. He knew that a perfect cordon of 
pickets would surround the foot of the mountain, and 
if he remained there until morning he would be lost. 
So he determined to run the gantlet at once, and 
commenced to descend. As he neared the foot, lead- 
ing his horse, he came almost in personal contact with 
a picket. His first impulse was to kill him, but, find- 
ing him asleep, he determined to let him sleep on. 
He made his way to the house of a Union man that 
he knew lived near there, and passed himself oif as 
Captain Quarter-master of Hunt's regiment, who was 
on his way to Athens, Tenn., to procure supplies of 
sugar and coffee for the Union people of the country. 
The lady, who appeared to be asleep w^hile -his inter- 
view was taking place with her husband, at the men- 
tion of sugar and coff'ee, jumped out of bed in her 
night-clothes, and said : ' Thank God for that, for we 



MORGAN AXD HIS CAPTORS. 209 

ain't seen any real coffee up liere for God knows how 
long ! ' She was so delighted at the prospect that she 
made up a fire and cooked them a good supper. Sup- 
per being over, the General remarked that he under- 
stood some rebels had 'tried to cross the river this 
afternoon.' ' Yes/ said the woman, ' but our men 
killed some on 'em, and driv the rest back.' ' Now,' 
says the General, ' I know that, but did n't some of 
them get over ? ' ' Yes,' was her reply, ' but they are 
on the mountain, and can 't get down without being 
killed, as every road is stopped up.' He then said to 
her : ' It is very important for me to get to Athens by 
to-morrow night, or I may lose that sugar and coffee, 
and I am afraid to go down on any of the roads, for 
fear my own men will kill me.' 

" The fear of losinsc that sug;ar and coffee brous^ht 
her again to an accommodating mood, and she replied : 
' Why, Paul, can 't you show the Captain through our 
farm, that road down by the field?' The General 
said : ' Of course, Paul, you can do it ; and, as the 
night is very cold, I will give you ten dollars in gold 
to help you along.' The gold, and the prospect of 



210 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

sugar and coffee, was too much for any poor man's 
nerves, and he yielded; and, getting on a horse, he 
took them seven miles to the big road. 

" From this time forward he had a series of adven- 
tures and escapes, all very wonderful, until he got 
near another river in Tennessee, when he resolved 
to go up to a house and find the way. Hines went 
to the house, while the General stood in the road. 
Hearing a body of cavalry come dashing up behind 
him, he quietly slipped to one side of the road, and 
it passed by without observing him. They went trav- 
eling after Hines, and, poor fellow, he has not been 
heard of since. How sad to think that he should be 
either captured or killed after so many brave efforts, 
not only in his own behalf, but also in that of the 
General ; for the General says that it is owing chiefly 
to Hines's enterprise and skill that they made their 
escape ! 

" When, he arrived at the river referred to above, 
he tried to get over, intending to stop that night with 
a good Southern man on the other side. He could 
not get over, and had to stop at the house of a Union 
man. The next morning he went to the house that 



MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 211 

lie had sought the night previous, and found the track 
of the Yankees scarcely cold. They had been there 
all night, expecting that he would come there, and had 
murdered every body who had attempted to reach the 
house, without hailing them. In pursuing this brutal 
course, they had killed three young men, neighbors 
of this gentleman, and had gone away, leaving their 
dead bodies on the ground. 

" After he had crossed Okey's River, and got down 
into Middle Tennessee, he found it almost impossible 
to avoid recognition. At one time he passed some 
poor women, and one of them commenced clapping 
her hands and said, ' Oh, I know who that is ! ' but, 
catching herself, she stopped short, and passed on with 
her companions. 

" The General says that his escape was made en- 

th'cly without assistance from any one on the outside, 

and, so far as he knows, also without their knowledge 

of his intention ; that the announcement of his arrival 

at Toronto was one of those fortuitous coincidences 

that can not be accounted for; that it assisted him 

materially, no doubt. In fact, he says that his 'wife's 
18 



212 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

prayers' saved him, and, as this is the most agree- 
able way of explaining it, he is determined to be- 
lieve it." 

Various statements were circulated concerning the 
manner of Morgan's escape; and from various quar- 
ters it was more than intimated that it was effected 
by bribery. If the reader will carefully consider what 
follows, it will, no doubt, fully satisfy his mind, and 
give to him the true state of the case. 

Shortly after the escape of General Morgan, the 
Legislature of Ohio convened. At an early day, after 
that body had convened, the House passed a resolu- 
tion instructing the Committee on the Penitentiary to 
investigate and report to that body all the facts per- 
taining to the escape of Morgan and six of his officers. 
The committee promptly entered upon the discharge 
of their tedious and laborious duty ; and, finally, laid 
before the House a report covering fourteen pages 
of manuscript, accompanied by testimony, which cov- 
ered eighty-three pages of cap paper. The following 
is the conclusion and most material portion of the 
report : 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 21B 

" Upon a careful examination of the testimony, 
it is evident Lieutenant Judkins was guilty of gross 
carelessness and impropriety in furnishing the rebel 
prisoners with saws, files, and vises. Although it is 
evident they did not make use of these tools in effect- 
ing their escape, there can be no doubt it was for 
this purpose they wished to obtain them. 

" Lieutenant Judkins was on General Mason's staff, 
and went with him to San Francisco. From the 4th 
to the 25th of November he appears to have had the 
care and disbursement of the funds belonging to said 
prisoners ; also, the care and inspection of all letters, 
articles, and packages, going into or coming from these 
prisoners. He had access to them at all hours in tlie 
day. He took or sent packages to them at his pleas- 
ure. He, in fact, seems to have been the standing 
officer of the day for said prisoners, and, in view of the 
committee, it was his duty to have seen that the cells 
were not only kept in order, but closely inspected 
every day. We think he must have been destitute of 
that sense, and discretion which constitute the good 
soldier, or wanting in that moral integrity, without 
which no man can perform a true soldier's duty. We 



214 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

think he should be discharged from the military serv- 
ice of the United States. 

" The committee will here state, in connection with 
the above, that the chairman saw at the head-quarters 
of Colonel Richardson, at Camp Chase, four different 
orders signed by rebel prisoners, on General Mason, 
requesting him to deliver to Lieutenant Judkins sun- 
dry articles — such as medicines, gutta-percha buttons, 
wire, a vise, files, and two dozen watchmakers' or dia- 
mond saws. The saws were on two separate orders. 
One of these orders was signed by Basil Duke. On 
the back of said orders were written the names or ini- 
tials of the drawers, with different amounts in figures, 
supposed to be the cost of the articles therein named. 

^'In conclusion, your committee submit the follow- 
ing propositions deduced from their examination and 
investigation : 

"1. That the rebel prisoners had no assistance in 
effecting their escape, either from the Penitentiary or 
military authorities, or from any one connected there- 
with, unless the non-examination of the cells may be 
considered such. 

" 2. That it was not necessary for them to have had 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 215 

any assistance. All they required was, that there be 
no examination for a sufficient length of time to allow 
them to perform the necessary labor. 

" 3. The said escape could not have been effected 
had it not been for the air-chamber under the cells. 

" 4. That they might have known, and probably did 
know, of the existence of said air-chamber, by the 
sound made by stamping upon the cell-floors. 

" 5. That if the cells had been examined as often as 
once a week, the escape would not have been effected. 

^' 6. That there was a neglect of duty in not making 
such examination. 

" 7. That this neglect of duty rests with the mili- 
tary authorities." 

The report is signed by the members of the Peni- 
tentiary Committee; and, with the testimony, it was 
ordered to be printed. 

Since the report was submitted to the House, and 
since the above was written, Mr. Woodbury, the chair- 
man, has received the following documents, among 
which are the orders referred to by the committee : 



216 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Head-quaeters Camp Chase, Ohio, ) 
March 19, 1854. ) 
B. B. Woodbury, Esq., Chairman^ etc.: 

Sir — Your summons did not reach me until yesterday in the 
afternoon. I am informed by Captain Lamb that the written 
copies of orders for the purchase of various articles by prison- 
ers of war in the Penitentiary are all that you desire of me. 
I am, very respectfully, W. P. Eiohardsox, 

Colonel Commanding. 

Order IN'o. 1. 
$220. Columbus, Ohio, November 16, 1863. 

Pay to Lieutenant William A. Judkins, A. D. C, dol- 
lars for articles furnished below, and charge to my account. 

1 awl-handle and set of blades attached; 

1 brace and 1 doz. saws; 

1 rat-tail file, 1 flat file; 

3 plates of gold about 2^ inch square, and 1 inch small gold 
wire ; 

1 doz. gutta-percha buttons, different sizes. 

H. A. HiGLET, 

Prisoner of War. 
To Brigadier-General John S. Mason. 

Order No. 2. 
Columbus, Ohio, November 18, 1863. 

Pay to Lieutenant William A. Judkins, A D. C, dol 

lars for articles furnished below, and charge to my account. 

2 lbs. Virginia smoking-tobacco (pre gail); 
1 razor and apparatus ; 

1 doz. jewelers' saws and 1 handle; 

$1 postage-stamps. (Signed) B. W. Duke, 

Prisoner of War. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 217 

Order No. 3. 
$1,00. Columbus, Ohio, November 20, 1863. 

Pay to Lieutenant William A. Judkins, A. D. C, dol- 
lars for articles furnished below, and charge to my account. 

1 oz. glycerin ; 

^ oz. vinegar of cantharides; 1 oz. Cologne water; 

1 oz. rose-water ; 

1 doz. as'd jewelers' saws; 

2 half-round files. 

(Signed) Thos. B. Boyd, 

Prisoner of War. 
Please give the $1.00 ordered in last order to Sergeant 
Moore. (Signed) T. B. Boyd. 

Order No. 4. 
$0.70. Columbus, Ohio, November 20, 1863. 

Pay to Lieutenant William A. Judkins, A. D. C, dol- 
lars for articles furnished below, and charge to my account. 
Spalding's glue (small quantity); 
One small half-round file; 
One small rat-tail file. 

(Signed) C. Coleman, 



To Brigadier-General John S. Mason. 



Prisoner of War, 



We think it quite evident, from the foregoing state- 
ments, that Morgan, and those who escaped with him, 
were chiefly indebted to their own fertile brains for 
the accompUshment of that event. 

Important ideas sometimes have a strange birth- 



218 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

place, and are brought forth in the midst of singula! 
surroundings. The idea of escaping hj way of a tun- 
nel under ground, as suggested by Morgan's escape, 
has been fruitful of good results, and has opened a 
way of escape to Colonel Streight and a large 
number of our noble prisoners who were confined 
in rebel bastiles. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 219 



CHAPTER VIII, 



BBIGADIER-GENERAL HOBSOX — HIS NATIVITY-^SELF-MADE MAN — HIS VISIT TO THB 
SOUTH — WORKS AT HIS TRADE — BECOMES A MERCHANT — A SOLDIER IN THB 
MEXICAN WAR — AT THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA — RETURNS HOME AND RE- 
SUMES BUSINESS — A UNION MAN— HIS LIFE THREATENED — RAISES A REGIMENT 
FOR THE UNITED STATES SERVICE — ATTEMPT BY THE REBELS TO CAPTURE 
HIS FORCE AND ROB THE BANK — A SECOND ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE HOBSON — 

A HAZARDOUS UNDERTAKING THE REGIMENT MOVES "WITH GENERAL BUELL'S 

ARMY — HOBSON AT CORINTH — AT MOUNT WASHINGTON — IN TENNESSEE — AT 
GREEN RIVER BRIDGE — DEFEATS MORGAN — VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS — GENERAL 
HOBSON ORDERED TO LEXINGTON — NARROW ESCAPE — RESISTS THE ENTRANCE 
OF MORGAN INTO KENTUCKY — VIGOROUS PURSUIT OF MORGAN THROUGH KEN- 
TUCKY, INDIANA, AND OHIO — BATTLE OF BUFFINGTON. 



A LEADER of the expedition that pursued the 
famous General John H. Morgan, and captured 
and scattered his forces in the state of Ohio, Brio;a- 
dier-General E. H. Hobson, was born in the town of 
Greensburg, Green County, Kj., July 11, 1825. 

The distinguished service which General Hobson 
has rendered to his native state and to his country, 
his pure patriotism and heroic bravery, as evinced in 
tae dreadful conflict that is now shaking our land, in- 
vest the events of his life with more than ordinary 

interest. 
19 



220 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

General Hobson is a '' self-made man." In his 
early scliool-clajs,'^nsteacl of depending on his parents 
for liis entire education, he voluntarily spent a por- 
tion of his time at hard work, for one of his tender 
years, that he might, at least in part, educate himself, 
and thus aid his father, "who was not well able, at that 
time, to afford his son all the advantages of an educa- 
tion that were desirable. At the age of twelve, young 
Hobson was sent to the College at Danville, Ky. His 
health failing wdiile he was connected with that insti- 
tution, he was compelled to abandon any idea he may 
have had of pursuing his studies until he was gradu- 
ated in college. His health continuing poor, he re- 
solved, in accordance with the custom of the times, 
to visit the South, hoping to find thereby what he 
so much desired — good health. Health-seekers that 
have visited the Southern States and the island of Cuba 
have generally had their pockets w^ell " lined," and 
have moved in state. But young Hobson could not 
well afford to search for health at great pecuniary 
expense ; yet he resolved to visit the Southern States. 
Accordingly, at the early age of fourteen, he started 
upon his journey, not in one of the floating palaces 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 



221 



of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, but on foot, as a 
hog-driver, receiving wages at the rate of six dollars 
per month for his labor. He walked every foot of the 
way to Selma, in the state of Alabama, a distance of 
six hundred miles. After remaining for a season in 
the South, he returned to his native place in Ken- 
tucky. He returned by way of Mobile and New Or- 
leans, and landed at the town of Smithland, at the 
confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Pdvers, in 
Kentucky, and walked through deep snow from that 
place to his home, a distance of two hundred and fifty 
miles. He reached home in perfect health. Did he 
not deserve it? And can any one doubt that the 
youth, who had so much of the heroic in his character, 
if spared to manhood's age, and a fitting opportunity 
were given him, would make a hero, indeed ? Pre- 
vious to the journey of young Hobson, of which we 
have just spoken, he had learned, at least partly, the 
trade of saddle-making with his father. On reach- 
ing his home he resumed his trade, working part of 
the time, and part of the time during each year was 
spent in school. During the years 1844 and 1845, 
be received from his father wages at the rate of nine 



222 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

dollars per week. The means which he thus earned 
with his own hands enabled him, together with letters 
of credit, to purchase a stock of goods in New York 
and Philadelphia, with which he commenced the mer- 
cantile business in his native town. 

Soon after his return from the East, a call for vol- 
unteers was made by the government, to engage in 
the Mexican war. Mr. Hobson at once put his busi- 
ness matters in the hands of his father, and enlisted 
as a private, and rendered most efficient service in 
recruiting Company A of the Second Regiment of 
Kentucky Volunteers, which regiment was commanded 
in the Mexican war by the gallant Colonel W. R. 
McKee. Mr. Hobson was offered the second lieu- 
tenancy before the company, of which he was a pri- 
vate, was full. He nobly refused to accept any office 
until the company was fully recruited, and each mem- 
ber of it could have a fair opportunity of voting for 
officers of his own choice. After the company was 
full, Mr. Hobson was elected, by acclamation. Second 
Lieutenant. 

Lieutenant Hobson served in the Mexican war thir- 
teen months— from June 1, 1846, to August 30, 1847. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 223 

Previous to the battle of Baeiia Vista, Mr. Hobson 
was i^romoted to the first lieutenancy. He was in that 
desperate battle, and exposed, from sunrise to sunset, 
to the leaden hail of the enemy. He commanded the 
left wing of his company, during the battle, which was 
engaged as sharp-shooters and skirmishers. His com- 
pany was attacked, five difiierent times, by more than 
double their number, and was successful each time in 
repulsing the enemy. In addition to these five dis- 
tinct engagements, the company was also in each en- 
gagement in which the whole regiment took part. 
But we can not now give all the particulars of Lieu- 
tenant Hobson's history while with our army in 
Mexico. It is enough to sav that which everv one 
who knew him in the campaign in Mexico will testify 
to as being true, that he was a brave soldier and a 
good officer. 

Lieutenant Hobson, after his honorable discharge 
from the service of his country, at the close of the 
INIexican war, returned to his home in Kentucky, and 
resumed the mercantile business, and continued at that 
employment until 1857. In the mean time he was 
elected a director of the Branch Bank of Kentucky at 



22 t MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

(jreensburg. In 1859 he was appointed president of 
the bank, and continued in that office up to the month 
of December, 1861. In these offices, as a director 
and president, he discharged his duties with fidelity, 
and to the satisfaction of all concerned. 

When the startling news flashed along the tele- 
graphic wires, in the month of April, 1861, '' They have 
fired on Sumter^'' the heart of Lieutenant Hobson was 
fired with patriotism and love for that glorious old flag 
under which he fought so heroically in the bloody bat- 
tle of Buena Yista. He was an " out-and-out" Union 
man, and did not hesitate, under circumstances that 
tested the ^' stuff" of which men were made, especially 
m all the border states, to declare himself opposed to 
secession, and in favor of his country. Living as he 
was, surrounded with many and bitter secessionists, 
his life was constantly exposed. Citizens and former 
friends seve-ral times threatened his life. For his own 
personal safety and the safety of his friends — for the 
sake of his state and his country — he determined to 
raise a regiment of infantry, and was authorized to do 
so by General Nelson, in the month of August, 1861. 
In the month of September following he received from 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 225 

Secretary Cameron an appointment as Colonel. By 
the 5th of September he had about one hundred and 
twenty-five men under his command, at Greensburg, 
which place was his head-quarters. It will be remem- 
bered that, about that time, General S. B. Buckner, 
who had been a member of Governor Magoffin's staff, 
and commander of the State Guards, had invaded the 
state, and occupied Woodsonville and Munfordville, 
on Green River, only twenty-five miles from the camp 
of Colonel Hobson. Information w^as received by the 
Colonel that four hundred rebels, from the army of 
General Buckner, were about to march to Greensburg, 
for the purpose of capturing his little force and rob- 
bing the bank, which then contained about one hun- 
dred and forty thousand dollars. He vras not the man 
to be caught in the trap that was set before his eyes ; 
so at once he took the money out of the bank, and, 
accompanied by his little force, moved, somewhat 
hastily, to Campbellsville, a place twelve miles distant 
from Greensburg, wdiere he procured four horses and 
as many guides as he thought necessary, and then 
traveled during the night to Lebanon, and from thence, 
by way of the railroad, to Louisville, Kentucky. He 



226 MORGAIT AND HIS CAPTORS. 

delivered the money safely into the hands of the 
proper persons, and his conduct was fully indorsed by 
Mr. Yirgil McKnight, the president of the Bank of 
Kentucky. This act of removing the funds of the 
bank from Greensburg incensed the rebel citizens of 
the county ; but Colonel Hobson felt that he had done 
his duty — that he had saved to the state and to the 
stockholders one hundred and forty thousand dollars, 
and had aided his country by placing that large sum 
of money beyond the reach of rebel hands ; and why 
should he be greatly moved by the ire of rebel 
citizens ? 

Up to this period the force commanded by Colonel 
Hobson had been poorly armed, having nothing better 
than shot-guns and Kentucky rifles. On his return 
from Louisville, he brought with him one box of guns, 
a quantity of powder, caps, and lead; and, having 
thus provided his troops with good arms, he returned 
to his old camp, at Greensburg. In the mean time two 
other regimxcnts commenced recruiting at Greensburg, 
and by the 10th of October there were as many as five 
hundred men connected with these three regiments. 
They also had received from the government full sup- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 227 

plies for three full regiraents, consisting of quarter- 
master's and commissary stores. 

General Buckner, being fully satisfied that he could 
surround and cai3ture these forces and their stores, or- 
dered General Hardee, v/ho was then at Cave City, to 
march with his division, consisting of four thousand 
infantry, besides six pieces of artillery, and a cavalry 
force, to Greensburg, and demand the surrender of 
the command at that place, and, if not immediately 
complied with, to give sufficient time for the women 
and children to be removed, and then, if surrender was 
not made at once, to butcher every Federal officer and 
soldier ; to move the goods belonging to the govern- 
ment to Cave City, for the use of the rebel army ; and 
then move forward and occupy Muldrough's Hill, and 
thus prevent the Federals from opening camps at 
Greensburg, Columbia, and Campbellsville. Colonel 
Hobson, having learned perfectly the intentions of 
the rebel generals, and believing that the forces un- 
der his command were not able to contend against 
ten times their number, fell back to Campbellsville, 
which he entered during the night, and thus saved 
their stores, and prevented the occupation of Mul- 



228 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

drough's Hill by rebel soldiers. The day following it 
was deemed prudent by the officers of the different 
regiments that a reconnoissance should be made to 
ascertain the position of the enemy. To carry out 
this plan, ninety cavalry, from the Home Guards, 
volunteered to go with Colonel Hobson. At two 
o'clock P. M. they started out on the expedition, 
and arrived at Greensburg at six o'clock that evening, 
and ascertained that two hundred of the enemy had 
been in and near that place the evening previous to 
their arrival. Colonel Hobson immediately pushed on 
with his little force to Green River, five miles distant 
from Greensburg, and there, at the crossing-place of 
the river, posted fifty of his men. Twenty more he 
sent to the crossing-place two miles south of Greens- 
burg. Twenty more of his men were left, and to 
these he gave the command, " Forward !" and forward 
they went, swimming the river, and proceeding to Bar- 
ren River, a distance of six miles. Between the two 
rivers was a rebel cavalry force, numbering two hun- 
dred. They heard of the crossing of Colonel Hobson, 
and, not having definite knowledge as to the size of bis 
command; became alarmed and fled before him. The 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 229 

little band moved on until thej reached the river, and 
there they ascertained that General Hardee had broken 
up camp that day, supposing that Colonel Hobson had 
fallen back from Greensburg for the purpose of draw- 
ing him there, and giving to General McCook an op- 
portunity to cross over and attack him in the rear. 
The next day the Colonel returned to Campbellsville, 
having performed, successfully, a most hazardous and 
arduous duty. 

In a very short time after the events just narrated, 
the regiment commanded by Colonel Hobson was filled 
to the minimum number, and was mustered into the 
service of the United States, and numbered the Thir- 
teenth Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers. Colonel 
Hobson was elected commander of the regiment on the 
24th of November, 1861. 

During the time this regiment was recruiting, its 
officers would frequently pass through the rebel lines 
to obtain recruits, and occasionally would have slight 
skirmishes. On the 14th of February, 1862, this 
regiment moved south, with the column of General 
Buell's army that moved from Columbia, Kentucky. 
This regiment distinguished itself at the battle of 



230 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Shiloh, and the name of its colonel is mentioned with 
honor for his gallant bearing in that bloody fight, in 
the reports of Generals Crittenden and Boyle. 

Colonel Hobs on was with his regiment at the siege 
of Corinth. Afterward he moved with the forces of 
General Buell, through Kentucky, in pursuit of Bragg's 
army. At the battle of Perryville, Colonel Hobson 
commanded a brigade. He assisted in drivino; the 
rebels from Mount Washington. Colonel Hobson and 
his regiment were in the front of the forces that skirm- 
ished with and fought the rear of Bragg's retreating 
army, from Stanford to Mount Vernon — a distance of 
twenty miles. 

Colonel Hobson and his regiment returned to Ten- 
nessee, under General Rosecrans, and remained there 
until November 26, 1862. He was then ordered to 
Munfordville, Kentucky, with three broken-down regi- 
ments, for the purpose of recruiting, and protecting 
the magnificent iron bridge that spans Green River at 
that place, and which was essential to keep open the 
line of communication from Louisville to General 
Rosecrans's army. 

The friends of the Colonel and his regiment were 



MORGAN AND IIIS CAPTORS. 231 

making somewhat extensive preparations to give to 
them a great dinner on Christmas day, December 25, 
1862. General Morgan, the famous guerrilla chief, 
sent T\'ord that he would dine that day with the Colonel 
and his soldiers. Sure enough, he made his appear- 
ance at the time, but, meeting with rather a warm re- 
ception, left in more haste than he came. He failed 
to destroy the bridge over Green River, but left on 
the field eighteen of his guerrillas, and thirty in the 
hands of our forces, as prisoners of war. 

Colonel Hobson, w^hile in command of the forces at 
Munfordville, and south of that place, frequently sent 
out expeditions to the Cumberland River, nearly all 
of them resulting in great good to the Federal cause. 
He planned the expedition that destroyed Celina, 
Tennessee. In the fight at that place, sixty of the 
enemy were killed, and forty boats, one hundred thou- 
sand pounds of bacon, large quantities of corn, whisky, 
wheat, flour, and sugar, were destroyed. 

During the months of December, January, Feb- 
ruary, and March, troops servmg under the orders of 
Colonel Hobson killed, in various skirmishes and en- 
gagements, as many as one hundred and fifty of the 



232 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

enemj, and captured about one thousand, and several 
hundred horses ; and, strange to say, his losses, during 
all that time, did not exceed fifty killed, wounded, and 
missing 

On the 25th of February, 1863, Colonel Hobson was 
appointed and confirmed a Brigadier-General, for 
" meritorious and distinguished services in the field,^^ 
to take rank from the 29th of November, 1862. 

In the month of May, 1863, General Hobson was 
ordered to Lexington, Kentucky, and placed in com- 
mand of the city and the troops serving in the district 
of Central Kentucky. He, however, asked to be re- 
lieved of that command, and gave as a reason for so 
doing that he was famihar with South-eastern Ken- 
tucky, and that he desired to capture John Morgan. 
This reason was, undoubtedly, patriotic, but the writer 
of these pages strongly suspects that it was partly 
personal and private. No doubt the reader of what 
follows will agree with me in this conclusion. 

In the summer of 1862, General Hobson made a 
short visit to his family, at Greensburg. His visit was 
prematurely short, for he was compelled to flee from 
his home and family to the hills, and hide himself in 



MORGAN AjSD HIS CAPTORS. 233 

the cliffs of the river. He was without a guard, and 
thirty miles distant from any of his soldiers. The 
eagle-eyed John saw the pre}^, darted down upon his 
home, in the dead hours of the night, on the 11th of 
July, but the bird had flown. The main column of 
Morgan's command remained fourteen hours witbin six 
miles of the hiding-place of the General, during which 
time scouts were sent out in every direction, who 
scoured the country, but were, at last, compelled to be 
satisfied with " Hohson^s cJwiceJ' You can imagine 
that General Hobson had a strong personal reason 
for desiring to capture General Morgan. 

The General was relieved of his command at Lex- 
ington, and ordered first to Munfordville, and then to 
take command of the Second Brigade, Third Division, 
Twenty-third Army Corps, at Columbia. 

On the 19th of June, 1863, General Hobson was 
ordered by General Judah, commander of the Third 
Division of the TAventy-third Army Corps, to move his 
brigade to the town of Glasgow. That Avas a great 
mistake on the part of General Judah, as subsequent 
events showed. That event threw open a gap of 
country fully ninety miles in extent ; and it was the 



234 MORGAN ANP HIS CAPTORS. 

opinion of General Hobson that John Morgan would 
take advantage of it, and move into the state by way 
of Burksville. Morgan was at that time making a 
feint on Carthage, Tennessee, the design of which was 
to attract the attention of General Judah, and draw 
him from Glasgow, with General Manson's brigade, 
then move with his own forces along the south side 
of the Cumberland, and cross over that river into 
Kentucky. General Hobson, however, obeyed orders, 
and moved with his brigade to Glasgow, having in 
charge two hundred wagons, which gave him no little 
trouble, as his men were compelled, owing to the poor 
condition of the mules, to pull the wagons up the hills 
with ropes attached to them. Marching through a 
drenching rain, he reached Glasgow on the 24th ult. 
There the General proposed to turn over all the regi- 
mental trains to the quarter-master, knowing that it 
was useless to attempt to capture Morgan, if his com- 
mand was encumbered with a wagon-train. At this 
place he received orders to move with his brigade to 
Tompkinsville, for the purpose of keeping open Gen- 
eral Judah's line of communications from Glasgow to 
Cave City, from Tompkinsville to Glasgow, and from 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 235 

Tompkinsville to Carthage, in Tennessee. At the 

same time he was informed that General Judah would 

move, with General Hansen's -brigade, to Scottsville, 

south of the Big Barren River, and would move from 

that point to Carthage. 

At nine o'clock on the morning of the 24th instant, 

General Hobson moved with his brigade from Glasgow, 

ten miles south-east, to Glover's Creek. At this place 

the brio-ade remained until the 28th instant. The sol- 
es 

diers had marched all day through a drenching rain, 
their feet sinking in the mud to the tops of their 
shoes, and, of course, they were exhausted and needed 
rest. Besides this. General Judah was on the south 
side of Barren River, water-bound, and every oppor- 
tunity of communication with him was cut off until the 
water receded. This halt appeared to be proper and 
prudent. While the brigade remained at Glover's 
Creek, scouting parties were sent out to Center Point, 
Marrowbone, and toward Tompkinsville. One of the 
scouting parties had an engagement with the enemy, 
in which they killed the rebel Captain Dickens. They 
also ascertained that the enemy, fifteen hundred strong, 

were encamped at Turkey Neck Bend, fifteen miles 
20 



236 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

below Burksville, on the south side of the Cumberland 
River. Prisoners that were brought in corroborated 
the statements of the scouts. Greneral Hobson also 
learned that Morgan's forces consisted of four thou- 
sand men and four pieces of artillery ; that it was his 
intention to cross the Cumberland, with one of his 
brigades, at Bm-ksville, and with the other at Cloyde's 
Ferry, seven miles below, then go up the north side 
of the river, and unite his forces at Burksville. 

On the morning of the 28th inst.. General Hobson 
ordered his infantry to move to Bay's Cross-roads, in 
the direction of Burksville, and to remain at that place 
until further orders were sent. 

The Ninth Kentucky Cavalry were sent in advance 
of the infantry, with instructions to send out scouting 
parties, who should watch the movements of the en- 
emy. With the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, three hun- 
dred men in number. General Hobson took the direct 
road leading to Tompkinsville, expecting to meet Gen- 
eral Judah, and receive further instructions. On his 
march the General learned from citizens that three 
thousand of the enemy were three miles beyond 
Tompkinsville, and were approaching that place. A 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 237 

courier was at once sent to Ray's Cross-roads, with 
instructions to Colonel Jacob to move immediate^, 
with two of his battalions, and meet General Hob son 
at Tompkinsville. Colonel Jacob was also instructed 
to leave one battalion with the infantry, to act as 
scouts, in the direction of Center Point and Marrow- 
bone, and to give notice to General Hobson, at Tomp- 
kinsville, of the movements of the enemy. 

On reaching Tompkinsville, the enemy was not 
found, as was expected. Two or three hundred, how- 
ever, had been in the vicinity the evening previous. 
General Hobson's force, at that place and time, con- 
sisted of five hundred cavalry. Immediately after hi,s 
arrival, he threw out pickets, and used every precau- 
tion to prevent being surprised. On the next day, the 
29th of July, scouting parties were sent south and 
west, which captured four of the enemy, and ascer- 
tained that they were camped in Turkey Neck Bend, 
eight miles distant, and on the south side of the river, 
and that their camp was so located that it could easily 
be shelled. The next day, the 30th instant. General 
Hobson directed an officer commanding a scouting 
party to make a map of the country in the vicinity of 



288 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the rebel camp, and report as soon as possible. lie 
reported at two o'clock that day, having prepared a 
complete map, as directed, and stated that the north 
bank of the Cumberland could be occupied by our 
forces, within three hundred yards of the enemy, and 
that, too, without being observed by them. At three 
o'clock P. M., General Judah, with his escort and ad- 
vance, arrived at Tompkinsville. General Hobson at 
once submitted the map of the rebel camp and vicinity 
to General Judah, with the request that he might make 
an attack on the enemy with artillery. This request 
General Judah refused. General Hobson then re- 
quested General Judah to send him to Burksville. 
He replied that he would send him to Marrowbone, 
ten miles west of Burksville, and that he must hold 
that place at all hazards, until further orders. Gen- 
eral Hobson then requested permission to remove that 
evening, with his cavalry, and rejoin his infantry at 
Ray's Cross-roads. This the General refused also, 
saying that he could not think of weakening Tomp- 
kinsville, but ordered General Hobson to move the 
next morning at six o'clock, and stating that he would 
make his head-quarters at Glasgow; that he would 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 239 

leave the First Brigade at Tompkinsville, under com- 
mand of General Manson; and that he would order 
General Shackelford to the Cross-roads, to support 
him at Marrowbone. General Judah also ordered 
General Hobson to keep him advised of all movements, 
by sending couriers to him at his head-quarters, at 
Glasgow. According to orders, General Hobson 
moved the next morning, at six o'clock, with his cav- 
alry — the Ninth and Twelfth Kentucky Regiments — 
to Ray's Cross-roads, and there rejoined his infantry, 
and ordered them to be ready to move at twelve 
o'clock that day, stating that his cavalry would pass 
them on the road, and go in advance of them to Mar- 
rowbone. The General arrived at that place, with 
his brigade, at six o'clock that afternoon. Strong 
pickets and guards were posted at every important 
point. At five o'clock the next morning, July 2, his 
pickets on his right flank were attacked by troops 
under command of the rebel Adam Johnson. His 
front, on the road leading to Burksville, was attacked 
by a rebel brigade, commanded by Basil Duke. His 
left was well protected by the rough character of the 
country, which rendered it impassable. His front waa 



240 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

picketed by the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, and hia 
right flank by the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry. Both 
regiments called for additional pickets, which the Gen- 
eral promptly furnished. Two hundred of the Ninth 
Kentucky Cavalry, the command of the gallant Colonel 
Jacob, had been sent toward Burksville, with instruc- 
tions to go to that place for the purpose of developing 
the enemy. They fought their way to within four 
miles of that town, but were compelled to fall back, 
contending, most of the Vfay, in a hand-to-hand fight, 
against nine hundred and forty rebels, commanded by 
John Morgan in person. A courier brought informa- 
tion to General Hobson that a heavy rebel force was 
pressing back the detachment of the Ninth Kentucky 
Cavalry. On receiving this information, the General 
drew up the infantry into a line of battle, believing, 
from the character of the skirmishing on the right 
flank, that they were about to have a general engage- 
ment. The Ninth Cavalry, in the front, formed into a 
line of battle, and awaited the charge of the rebel cav- 
alry. Soon the charge was made ; and the Ninth 
Cavalry, assisted by a battery of artillery, repulsed 
and drove the enemy before them in confusion. By 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 241 

this time the cavah-y, numbering in all eight hundred, 
'were completely broken down. General Hobson, see- 
ing their condition, sent a courier to General Shackel- 
ford, at Ray's Cross-roads, requesting him to move 
up with his cavalry to his support. General Shackel- 
ford brought up promptly both his cavalry and in- 
fantry, reaching the position of General Hobson at 
twelve o'clock at night. In the mean time General 
Hobson sent a courier to General Judah, at Glasgow, 
to inform him that he was fighting Morgan's com- 
mand in his front and on his right flank, and that 
Morgan was crossing his forces over the river, at two 
points. During the night shots were fired occasionally 
by the pickets. 

General Hobson directed General Shackelford to be 
ready to move at daylight the next morning, the 3d of 
July. General Shackelford reported the next morn- 
ing promptly at the time designated. General Hob- 
son directed him to move in the direction of Burks- 
v^ille, to the crossing of the Mills Ferry and Columbia 
roads, Cloyde's Ferry and Burksville roads, and 
Burksville and Marrowbone roads, and to hold that 
position, which would prevent the rebel brigades of 



242 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Jolinson and Basil Duke from uniting. He also stated 
to General Shackelford tliat, after giving him sufficient 
time to get in the vicinity of the crossing of the roads, 
he would move with his brigade to the bend of the 
river on his right, attack and annihilate Johnson's 
forces, then move up and join him, and the united 
forces would fall upon the command of Basil Duke. 

Had this plan, which was undoubtedly a wise one, 
been carried out, Morgan would have been driven back 
into Tennessee, and the great raid of the great guer- 
rilla would have been brought to a premature end. 

General Hobson informed General Shackelford that 
he was making the movement in violation of orders, 
and that it was possible that he would be mustered 
out of service for so doing ; but that he was con- 
vinced that it was the best and only thing that could be 
done to check Morgan. General Shackelford agreed 
with him, and said that he would share with him the 
responsibility. 

As General Hobson was on the eve of carrying 
into execution nis plans of attack, he received informa- 
tion that General Judah was at the Cross-roads, ten 
miles in his rear. He at once dispatched a courier 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 243 

to General Judali, informing him of his intentions and 
plans, and that General Shackelford had already moved 
■«ith his brigade, and that his own brigade was ready 
to move, and that he hoped that his plans, although 
in violation of orders, would be indorsed. The cou- 
rier that was sent met General Judah a short distance 
from the camp, and delivered his message to him at 
once. General Judah dispatched one of his aids at 
full speed to General Hobson, with instructions to him 
to suspend all military operations until he arrived. 
The instructions were obeyed, and military operations 
were suspended for the time. As soon as^ General 
Judah arrived at the camp, he directed General Hob- 
son to order General Shackelford back from the posi- 
tion of the crossing of the roads to which he was 
marching. The order was obeyed. General Judah 
stated that he would send General Hobson the next 
day (July 4) to develop the position of the enemy; 
to which General Hobson replied, that Morgan had 
by that time united his forces, and was on his way 
toward Columbia. Scouting parties, sent out early 
that morning to ascertain the movements of the enemy, 

went to Burksville, and at that place received orders 
21 



244 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

to return to camp and report. These orders were in 
compliance with the orders of General Judah, issued 
in the morning, to suspend operations. The scouts 
returned, and reported that Morgan had united his 
forces, and that his rear regiment was then one and 
a half miles beyond Burksville, on the Columbia road, 
and his advance in Columbia. Thus, by the failure 
to carry out General Hobson's plan, Kentucky, Indi- 
ana, and Ohio were invaded, the whole country was 
wild with excitement, lives were lost, much property 
destroyed, and the government was put to an addi- 
tional expense of thousands of dollars. 

On the 3d of July, at six o'clock P. M., Genera. 
Shackelford's brigade was ordered to move toward 
Columbia, by way of Edmonton, a distance of tliirtj 
miles. General Hobson was ordered to move with his 
brigade at six o'clock A. M., on the 4th, through 
Edmonton to Greensburg, which gave Morgan twenty- 
four hours' start of Hobson's brigade. General Hob- 
Bon insisted that he should move that evening with 
his forces, and thus save twelve hours. His wishes 
were not complied with. Hobson suggested to Gen- 
eral Judah to send a courier directing General Man- 



MORGAN AND HIS CArTORS. 245 

Bon, at Tompkinsvillc, to move his brigade to Glasgow, 
and to send his infantry from that place to Cave City, 
and up the railroad to Elizabethtown, so that when 
lie (General Hobson) arrived at Edmonton, he would be 
in communication with General Shackelford at Glas- 
gow, and, still further, that he would communicate 
with General Judah at Glasgow. 

General Hobson reached Edmonton at twelve 
o'clock A. M., having marched sixteen miles over very 
rough roads. There he received a dispatch from 
General Shackelford, stating that Morgan had passed 
through Columbia on the 3d instant, and was then on 
the road leading to Lebanon. He sent information 
to General Judah, and requested him to send the 
Eleventh Kentucky, the Fifth Indiana, and Fourteenth 
Illinois Cavalry to Greensburg, to meet him at that 
place at two o'clock on the 5th instant. General Hob- 
son received a reply from General Judah that his re- 
quest would be granted. Hobson then moved from 
Edmonton at two o'clock on the 4th of July, and 
marched sixteen miles during the aftprnoon and night. 
Ten miles of the distance they marched by torch -light? 
in order to get the wagon and artillery train over the 



246 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

hills and tliroiigli tlie swamps. The General pushecl 
on with his cavalry to the Little Barren Eiver, fourteen 
miles from Greensburg. At daylight on the 5th in- 
stant, he issued orders directing the cavalry to move 
to Greensburg, and the infantry and artillery to fol- 
low. They reached Greensburg at two o'clock P. M. 
At that place General Hobson learned that a small 
party of rebels had been in the place the day before, 
and threatened to hang Major R. L. Moore, a stanch 
Union man. They also suggested that it would be 
a good time to burn the residence of General Hobson. 
Prom this place Hobson sent a courier to General 
Judah, stating that he was waiting for him and his 
cavalry. The courier met him six miles south-west 
of Greensburg, and south of Green River. General 
Judah replied by the courier that he would not cross' 
the river until the next morning. General Hobson 
at once determined that he would not wait for him ; 
so he issued orders to his cavalry to be ready to move 
at ten o'clock that night, and to his infantry and 
artillery not to attempt to follow hin, but to remain in 
the vicinity of Greensburg. General Hobson reached 
Campbellsville with his cavalry at four o'clock on the 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 247 

morning of the 6th instant. At that place he united 
with General Shackelford, and moved on toward Leb- 
anon, and arrived at that place at one o'clock on tho 
same day. Morgan had left the place the evening 
before. 

It was at this place that General Hobson received 
orders from General Burnside, directing him to as- 
sume command over General Shackelford's, Colonel 
Wolford's, and his own cavalry, and, with the com- 
bined forces, to pursue and capture John Morgan, and 
to impress from the coijntry through which he passed 
horses and subsistence. 

The command of General Hobson, when he marched 
from Lebanon and commenced the pursuit of Morgan, 
as commander of the expedition, consisted of twenty- 
five hundred cavalry, two pieces of artillery, and four 
mountain howitzers. It is scarcely necessary to add, 
after what has been written in a previous part of 
this work, that the pursuit through Kentucky, In- 
diana, and Ohio, was conducted under many disad« 
vantages. 

General Hobson was in his saddle twenty-one daya 
and nights, issuing orders, and urging on his men Avith 



248 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the most heroic determination, either to capture the 
great guerrilla, or perish in the attempt. With an 
advance-guard of only four hundred men, he overtook 
Morgan at Buffington Island, and there routed him, 
killing fifty-seven of his men and wounding twenty 
more, and forced him to abandon his artillery, bug- 
gies, carriages, and the merchandise which he had 
taken from the citizens of Indiana and Ohio on his 
march through those states. 

So vigorous was the pursuit, that large numbers of 
the men and horses were exhausted and completely 
broken down. 

General Hobson testifies that he saw, during the 
march, as many as six hundred of his soldiers asleep 
in their saddles at the same time. But for this vigor- 
ous pursuit, John Morgan would not have been cap- 
tured and his forces scattered. And yet, in all this 
matter, the modesty of General Hobson seems equal 
to his bravery. • He says, " I do not claim the credit 
of capturing John Morgan." But he gives great credit 
to his ofiicers and men, and says, '■' They are entitled 
to the thanks of the nation." He also gives great 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOR I. 249 

credit to the ladies of Indiana and Ohio for their 
smiles, cheers, and especially for their provender, and 
says, ^'God bless them!'' The ladies of Indiana and 
Ohio, and the patriots of the land echo back the bene- 
diction and say, " God bless General Hobson!'' 



250 MORGAN AND HIS Ci^PTORS. 



CHAPTER IX. 



BaiQADIER-GENERAL SHACKELFORD — HIS NATIVITY — IN THE MEXICAN WAK — HM 
PROFESSION AND MARRIAGE^HIS PERILS IN RAISING A REGIMENT IN KEN- 
TUCKY — AT FORT DONELSON — HE LEADS A CHARGE — HIS WOUND — MADE A 
BRIGADIER-GENERAL— HIS PURSUIT OF MORGAN THROUGH KENTUCKY, IN- 
DIANA, AND OHIO — THE BATTLE AT BASHAN CHURCH, OHIO — ASSUMES COMMAND 
OF THE EXPEDITION— THE PURSUIT CONTINUED UNTIL MORGAN IS CAPTURED— 
SHACKELFORD IN EAST TENNESSEE — AT THE SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE AND IN 
OTHER ENGAGEMENTS. 



IT is a matter for which every loyal heart should 
give praise to God, that, while he, in his infin- 
itely wise providence, was permitting traitors to their 
country to spring up all over this land, he, at the 
same time, was raising up, before their very faces, true 
and loyal men, with iron nerves, who were ready to 
resist the deeds of traitors, even unto death. While 
in Central and Eastern Kentucky, such loyal men as 
Hobson, Hanson, Jacob, Crittenden, and many others 
were resisting the common enemy, a host of true 
patriots in the south-western part cf the state were 
rising up in defense of the Natio lal Government. 
Preeminently among the latter stands Brigadier- Gen- 



MORGAN AND HIS CaPTORS. 251 

eral J. M. Shackelford, who, with a heart as true 
to his country as the trusty blade that he holds in 
his hands, has won for himself great distinction and 
true honor. It may be well, before recording the 
various acts of General Shackelford, as connected 
with the present war, to give a brief sketch of his 
earlier history. 

General Shackelford was born on the 7th of July, 
A. D. 1827, in Lincoln County, Kentucky, and was 
educated at the high-schools of that state. 

In the year 1847 he was commissioned Fh'st Lieu- 
tenant of Company I, Fourth Kentucky Regiment of 
Volunteer Infantry, raised under the last requisition 
for troops, during the war with Mexico. The regi- 
ment with which Lieutenant Shackelford was con- 
nected was ordered to the City of Mexico, at which 
place it was stationed for a period of five months, 
and until peace was declared. Shackelford was acting 
as Captain the greater part of the time while in 
Mexico. 

In the year 1848 he commenced the study of law, 
with the Hon. J. P. Cook, his brother-in-law, of Mad- 
isonville, Kentucky. 



252 MORGAN AND HIS JAPTORS. 



In the month of November, 1850, he was married 
to Miss M. E. Ross, of Union County, Kentucky, and, 
not having any patrimony, he taught school to sup- 
port himself and his wife, and prosecuted his law 
studies at noon and night, until he obtained a license 
to practice law. After his licensure he formed a 
partnership with his brother-in-law, Hon. J. P. Cook, 
and continued to practice his profession until the com- 
mencement of hostilities between the rebels and the 
government. 

In the month of July, 1861, General Robert An- 
derson, of Fort Sumter memory, then in command of 
the United States forces in Kentucky, authorized 
Colonel Shackelford to raise one or more regiments of 
soldiers. At that time South-western Kentucky was 
overrun with rebels, and the man who undertook to 
raise soldiers for the government did so at the peril of 
his life. Colonel Shackelford, however, was not the 
man to be intimidated ; so he at once established his 
head-quarters at Henderson, Kentucky, and sncceedei 
in raising the Twenty- fifth Kentucky Regiment of In- 
fantry, which regiment he commanded at the battle of 
Fort Donelson, in February, 1862. On account of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 253 

great exposure at Donelson, the Colonel was stricken 
do WD with disease, and, in March, 1862, was com- 
pelled to quit the service on account of ill health. 

In the month of July following, the Colonel was 
again authorized by the government to raise a regiment 
of cavalry. In less than three weeks after receiving 
the authority from the government to raise a regiment, 
more than twenty companies of volunteers were raised 
to join his regiment. The Colonel insisted that the 
government should permit him to receive all the com- 
panies offered, but this was refused, and we think un- 
wisely, by the government. 

On the 3d day of September, 1862, and before his 
regiment — the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry — ^had been 
mustered into service, Colonel Shackelford led a 
charge against a piece of artillery, at Geiger's Lake, 
on the Ohio River. In that charge his left foot was 
torn to pieces by a slug fired from the cannon. The 
Colonel was confined to his bed for five weeks with 
the wound, at the end of which time he took the field, 
and, beinir unable to ride on horseback, he went with 
his regiment in a buggy, and traveled with it for 
months in this way. 



254 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOHS. 

South-western Kentucky was at that time filled with 
rebels and guerrillas ; consequently, the Colonel's regi- 
ment was engaged almost every day in skirmishing 
and fighting. 

Il the month of March, 1863, Colonel Shackelford 
was confirmed, by the United States Senate, as a 
Brigadier-General, and was placed in command of the 
South-western part of Kentucky. 

On the 27th of June, 1863, General Shackelford 
received orders to move at once to Glasgow, Ken- 
tucky, with his brigade. The order was promptly 
obeyed. 

Morgan was then on the march for Kentucky, and 
crossed the Cumberland, as we have seen in the last 
chapter, at Burksville. 

General Shackelford was ordered to Columbia, via 
Edmonton. He arrived with his command at Libb's 
Bend on the morning of the 5th of July, where he 
learned that Colonel Moore had repulsed Morgan in 
his attack upon his works, the day before. On the 
night of that same da.y the command reached Camp- 
bellsville, at which place the General received informa- 
tion of the gallant defense, but final capture, of Colonel 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 255 

Hanson and the Twentieth Regiment of Kentucky In- 
fantry, at Lebanon, on that day. 

General Shackelford remained at Campbellsville 
until the following morning, awaiting the arrival of 
General Hobson's brigade. At Lebanon they met 
Colonel Wolford and his brigade. Here General Hob- 
son took command of the three brigades ; Shackelford 
commanded his own and Hobson's brigade. Then the 
pursuit of Morgan commenced in earnest. They pur- 
sued him through Indiana and Ohio, and overtook him, 
on the 19th of July, at Buffington Island, at which 
place Morgan was completely routed by the advance- 
guard of Hobson, as we have heretofore stated, as- 
sisted by the gun-boats which General Judah had taken 
with him up the river. 

General Shackelford, who had been reinforced by 
the Eighth and Ninth Michigan Regiments, under com- 
mand of Colonel Sanders, was approaching the field of 
action at Buffington on a trot, when he received orders 
to reverse his column, and take the first road leading 
up the river, to cut off the retreat of the rebels. 
Colonel AVojford, whose brigade was in the rear, had 
also been ordered to take the same road. The column 



256 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

of Shackelford had just been reversed, and had reached 
the road, where it met the forces under command of 
Wolford, when a courier rushed up and reported that 
the enemy had attacked the rear of his column. Col- 
onel "VYolford at once reported to Shackelford for 
orders. He was ordered to leave two regiments to 
hold the road, and then follow Shackelford's forces 
with the rest of his command. Promptly the General 
reversed his column, and moved rapidly to the place 
of attack, and formed a line of battle. The Ninth 
Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel Jacob, was placed on the 
extreme right ; the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel HoUoway, in the center ; and the Twelfth 
Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel Crittenden, on the extreme 
left. The Second Tennessee and Forty-third Ohio 
Mounted Infantry were kept in reserve. 

The fight commenced, and continued for some time, 
when Shackelford ordered a charge to be made upon 
the rebel lines by the First, Third, and Eighth Regi- 
ments of Kentucky Cavalry. TYith their sabers gleam- 
ing in the bright sunlight of that Sabbath morning, and 
a terrifying yell, those gallant men rushed upon the 
enemy. The enemy fled at their approach, and Col- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 257 

onel Dick Morgan and his brigade were made pris- 
oners. 

This engagement occurred at Bashan Church, four 
miles in the rear of Buffington Island. 

After disposing of the prisoners, General Shackel- 
ford reversed his column, and moved on the road run- 
ning parallel with the river road, on which Morgan 
was making his escape. He marched fifteen miles in 
about two hours, and succeeded in throwing part of 
his force in the front of Morgan. Part of the com- 
mand had been sent in various directions, after squads 
of rebels that had been scattered by the fight at Ba- 
shan Church, so that Shackelford had but about six 
hundred men with him when he got in Morgan's front. 
The General, in person, together with Captain Hoff- 
man, his Adjutant- Gen oral, and three or four other 
ofiicers, made a reconnoissance within a short distance 
of the place where Morgan and about two thousand 
of his men were halted. He was found in a deep and 
almost inaccessible ravine. 

Shackelford at once reported, to Generals Judah and 
Hobson, Morgan's position. It was, however, late in 
the evening, an i they did not receive the message in 



258 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

time to mo"v 3 up tlie river. During the niglit the scat- 
tered forces of General Shackelford were brought to- 
gether, and the capture of Morgan seemed almost cer- 
tain ; but, under the cover of night, he took his entire 
command along by-paths leading through the woods, 
and on the next morning, the 20th instant, he was four 
miles in advance of our forces. Shackelford imme- 
diately commenced the pursuit, and that day witnessed 
the greatest race of the war. He had chased Morgan, 
by three o'clock that day, fifty-seven miles, and fought 
him from three until four o'clock, and succeeded in 
routing and driving him upon a high bluff. Shackel- 
ford at once demanded an unconditional surrender of 
Morgan and his command. Our flag met a flag of the 
enemy, which was borne by Colonel Coleman, of Louis- 
ville, Kentucky. They seemed exceedingly anxious to 
surrender, if General Shackelford would agree to re- 
spect private property. He informed them that he 
would accept nothing but an unconditional surrender, 
and, at the same time, informed them that it was not 
liis purpose to rob them, although they had set the ex- 
ample by robbing our men at Lebanon, Kentucky. It 
was the ui/ ierstanding of General Shackelford and his 



MORGAN AffD IIIS CAPTORS. 259 

officers that Morgan and his entire command, then and 
there, surrendered. It was raining at the time, and 
late in the evening before the rebels commenced com- 
ing down from the hilL Morgan was not at the head 
of the prisoners. Shackelford inquired for him, when 
he was informed that Morgan had taken some six hun- 
dred of his men and fled. 

The night was spent in disposing of the prisoners 
captured at that point — Keiger Creek, ten miles from 
Gallipolis. The prisoners numbered about thirteen 
hundred. 

The next morning General Shackelford called for 
one thousand volunteers, to renew the chase. Colonel 
Capron, of the Fourteenth Illinois Regiment, joined 
our forces during the night. They were unable, how- 
ever, to find more than five hundred horses, among 
our own and those that were captured, that were fit for 
the chase that day. Colonel Wolford, Colonel Capron, 
and Lieutenant-Colonel Melton, of the Second Ten- 
nessee, and a number of other officers, volunteered. 
Colonel Jacob was ordered to take command of the 
forces that remained, and the prisoners. 

They started in pursuit of Morgan again, but did 
22 



260 MORGAN AND HIS C A.PTOP.S. 

not overtake him until Friday, tlie 24th instant. In 
the mean time Major-Gcneral Burnside had issued an 
order phicing General Shackelford in command of all 
the forces in pursuit of Morgan. 

On Sabbath morning, the 26th of July, Major Way, 
of the Ninth Michigan Regiment, and a militia regi- 
ment, met Morgan, and captured some two hundred of 
his men. Ascertaining the direction Morgan had taken, 
and knowing that he would aim for the river. General 
Shackelford ordered Major Rue, Captain Ward, and 
Adjutant Carpenter to take the advance, and run out 
upon a road that would intercept him. The column 
immediately followed the advance. 

A courier from Major Rue reported that the enemy 
had just come into the road, in his front. Within a 
few moments a second courier said that Major Rue 
wanted reinforcements. General Shackelford pressed 
the command forward with the utmost speed. 

In the mean time Morgan had been brought to a 
halt by the advance force just spoken of. 

Morgan claimed, when Major Rue demanded his 
surrender, that he had already surrendered to a n ilitia 
captain. Rue, very properly, refused to take any ac- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 261 

tion whatever until General Shackelford should arrive, 
except to hold securely his prisoners. 

Soon after the arrival of Shackelford, he ordered 
Morgan, Colonel Cluke, and their staffs, to follow him. 
They rode back about two miles, and dismounted at a 
house, at w^hich place Morgan asked for an interview 
w^ith Shackelford, calling several of his officers into 
the room. He then said that he had surrendered to a 
militia captain, and that the terms of surrender were 
that he and all of his officers and men were to be 
paroled. To all this General Shackelford replied that 
he would not for one moment entertain the idea of 
paroling him ; that he had followed him for thirty days 
and nights ; that he had fought his com.mand several 
times, and had defeated him upon every field ; and 
that when he made the pretended surrender to a 
militia captain, he was surrounded, and knew that es- 
cape was impossible ; and that the surrender to a man 
that he held as a prisoner of war was simply absurd 
and ridiculous. He further informed Morgan that he 
would deliver him, and his men and officers, to General 
Burnside, at Cincinnati. 

To all this Morgan replied that what he then said 



262 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

v/as law, and that he would have to obey, as he was 
tjie captor, and he (Morgan) the captive. He reminded 
General Shackelford that, amid the fortunes of war, 
the thing might be changed, and that he might be the 
captor and Shackelford the captive. To this Shack- 
elford replied that he neither asked nor granted 
fh^vors. 

General Shackelford is a member of that highly-re- 
spectable body of Christians called Cumberland Pres- 
byterians, and is, we hope, a true soldier of the Cross. 

His dispatch to Colonel Lewis Richmond, Assistant 
Adjutant- General of Burnside, has the right ring, the 
tone of which has been admired by thousands of Chris- 
tian people, of various denominations, all over this 
land. Here it is: 



" Head-quarters in the Field, 
" Two Miles from New Lisbon, 0., July 26, 1863. 



" Colonel Lewis Richmond . 



" By the blessing of Ahnighty God, I have succeeded in 
capturing General John H. Morgan, Colonel Cluke, and the 
rust of their command, numbering some four hundred. I will 
leave on the first train, with Morgan and his stall", for vin- 
cinnati. I am, Colonel, yours, etc., 

" J. M. Shackelford, 

" Brig.-Gen. Commandino;." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 263 

At Lexington, Indiana, General Shackelford made a 
speech to a large crowd of people, about twelve o'clock 
at night. As soon as he had got through his speech, 
the Adjutant of Colonel Jacob, who was standing close 
by the speaker, asked to be introduced to the ladies 
present. By some means, the impression was preva- 
lent among the ladies that he was a General; so he 
went round playing the General, and not only shaking 
hands with the ladies, but kissing the pretty ones and 
all the babies, to the great amusement of the sol- 
diers, who knew that he w^as simply an Adjutant. 

At the battle of Buffington, which has been described 
in this chapter, and w^hile our forces w^ere in line of 
battle, and the bullets were flying around hke hail, a 
man was brought to Colonel Jacob by some of the 
skirmishers. He was a citizen, and w^as so much 
alarmed that he -could not speak at first. After a 
short time, however, he gasped out, " Colonel, please 
save my corn as much as possible." Of course, 
the officers present were greatly amused when the 
Colonel said to the man, ^' I will grant your re- 
quest." 

At the same place, just at the commencement of the 



264 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

battle, a citizen, who had followed our a:'niy in a buggy, 
was suddenly taken with a strong desire to retreat. 
Leaving horse, buggy, and all, he commenced making 
rapid strides down the hill ; but some of our men, who 
were opposed to cowardice, and who pretended to be 
afraid of the bad example, brought him back, and com- 
pelled him to smell the smoke of battle. 

The military career of General Shackelford does 
not end with the important part that he took in the 
capture of Morgan and his men. He has, since that 
time, been active and conspicuous in the campaign of 
East Tennessee. For the sake of preserving import- 
ant historical events connected with this cruel rebell- 
ion, and for the further purpose of giving proper 
credit to the man who rendered efficient service in 
capturing Morgan, and in behalf of bleeding and loyal 
East Tennesseeans, we here put upon record the fol- 
lowing important and interesting facts : 
• After the capture of Morgan, General Shackelford 
returned to Kentucky. Soon after his return, it 
pleased the Lord to take from him his wife, who had 
been ill for months with the consumption. About this 
time he was ordered to report at Stanford, Ky., where 



MORGAN AND HIS CAJTORS. 265 

a brigade of cavalry awaited him for the East Tennes- 
see campaign. With his brigade, the General moved 
over the mountains into East Tennessee. 

On the 4th of September, 1863, he drove Buckner's 
retreating army across the Tennessee River at Lou- 
don. Buckner burned the bridge at that point, a most 
splendid structure, to prevent the further pursuit of 
his forces. 

Shackelford was then placed in command of a cav- 
alry division, composed of three brigades, with which 
he moved to and invested Cumberland Gap. General 
Frazer was there in command of the rebel garrison. 
General Shackelford at once demanded an uncondi- 
tional surrender of himself and his command, and gave 
him until three o'clock of the same day to decide 
the matter. At twelve o'clock that night Shackelford 
sent a detachment of one hundred and fifty-odd men 
to drive in his outposts and pickets, and, at the same 
time, opened on liis works with his artillery. The 
rebel General, expecthig a general assault, ordered 
his men within the inuer works. This gave to 3ur 
force *".he opportunity of burning a mill, which was the 
chief dependence of the enemy for bread. The mill 



266 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

was speedily consumed, and, on the 9tli of September, 
the garrison surrendered; and thus, without any loss 
on our part, two thousand three hundred prisoners fell 
into the hands of our forces. 

From the Cumberland Gap this part of our army 
then moved back to Knoxville, and from thence to 
Bristol, skirmishing and fighting with the rebel cav- 
alry almost daily. Again they were ordered to Knox- 
ville, for the purpose of rendering assistance to Gen- 
eral Rosecrans. 

At this time one more brigade was added to the 
command of General Shackelford, and two brigades 
were ordered to Loudon and Sweetwater ; and Shack- 
elford's division, in connection with one division of 
the Ninth Army Corps, moved east toward Bristol. 
They fought and defeated the enemy at Blue Springs, 
whereupon General Burnside ordered Shackelford to 
pursue the enemy with cavalry. On the 19th of Octo- 
ber he fought the enemy, under command of Generals 
John S. Williams and Jackson, of Tennessee, and de- 
feated them twice. They were strongly fortified at 
Carter's Station and Zollicoifer. Shackelford moved 
ofi* to their left, as though he intended to make an 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 267 

attack upon their salt-works. General "Williams, to 
save the salt-works, movcrl out of his fortified posi- 
tion, and met our forces near Blountville, and gave 
them battle. The rebel forces were defeated and 
routed. This was on the 21st of October. On that 
night they evacuated Zollicoffer and Carter's Station, 
and fled, in the greatest consternation, into Virginia. 
On the 22d, the day following, our forces followed 
them to within a few miles of Abingdon, Virginia, 
and burned seven railroad bridges, three locomotives, 
thirty-odd cars, and tore up and burned five miles of 
railroad track, and then returned to Jonesboro, a 
town noted as once being the residence of that great 
and good man, Rev. Dr. Nelson, who wrote the book 
called " The Cause and Cure of Infidelity," which 
has a world-wide reputation. From Jonesboro our 
forces moved to Greenville. On the 2d of November, 
by order of General Burnside, a cavalry corps, com- 
posed of two divisions, was formed, and General 
Shackelford placed in command, with his head-quar- 
ters at Knoxville. 

On the 15th of November, Shackelford, at the head 

of fourteen hundred soldiers, met Wheeler, the rebel 
23 



268 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

General, with his command, variously estimated from 
six to ten thousand troops, and fought him all day, 
and repulsed him severely at night. 

On the 17th instant the siege of Knoxville com- 
menced. For several days parts of General Shackel- 
ford's command were upon all sides of the town. Tho 
gallant General Sanders, who fell mortally wounded 
while commanding one of the outposts, commanded 
one division in his corps. About the sixth day of the 
siege, Shackelford was placed in command of all the 
forts, six in number, and all the forces on the south 
side of the river. At the latter place he had two 
desperate engagements with the enemy of Hood's 
division, and defeated him each time ; immediately 
after which the siege was raised. 

Shackelford was ordered, with his cavalry corps, to 
follow Longstreet. He pursued the enemy to Bean's 
Station, skirmishing and fighting with his rear every 
day. 

On the 14th of December, Longstreet, with his 
whole army, moved against Shackelford, who was at 
Bean's Station, with about four thousand soldiers. 
The battle commenced about two o'clock P. M., and 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 269 

continued until after niglit had set in. Our forces 
possessed every advantage in position, but the enemy 
had at least five men to our one. The fighting was 
desperate. The enemy acknowledged a loss of eight 
hundred killed and wounded, including one General 
wounded. The Federal loss was about two hundi-ed. 
They skirmished all the day following, and, on the 
night of the 15th, the Federals were ordered back to 
Blain's Cross-roads. 

On the morning of the 16th instant, General Shack- 
elford, on leave of absence obtained from General 
Burnside, left for his home in Kentucky, having re- 
mained in the field twelve days after permission had 
been granted him to leave his command. 

When the General arrived at his home, he found 
his widowed mother, then seventy-four years old, in a 
helpless condition. He also had four small mother- 
less children. The condition of all was such as to 
impress him with the feeling that it was his duty to 
quit the army and take care of his mother and chil- 
dren. He accordingly sent his resignation to "Wash- 
ington, with the reasons of resignation, and they were 
considered satisfactory. Accordingly, on the 18th of 



270 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

January, 1864, the President accepted the resignation 
of General Shackelford; and thus has ended, for the 
present, the military career of one who has made for 
himself a name and a place deep in the hearts of thou- 
sands of loyal people in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, 
and Ohio. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 271 



CHAPTER X 



COLONEL E. T. JACOB, OF THE NINTH KENTUCKY CAVALRY AND LIEDTENANT-OOV- 
EENOR OF KENTUCKY — A HEROINE AND DAUGHTER OF BENTON — THE BIRTH OF 
COLONEL JACOB^HIS EARLY CHARACTER — PERILOUS JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA — 
COLONEL JACOB AND GENERAL FRE3I0NT IN CALIFORNIA — RETURN TO THE 
STATES— MARRIAGE— ILL HEALTH— IN MISSOURI— UNITES WITH THE PRESBY- 
TERIAN CHURCH — A RULING ELDER — HIS CHARACTER — ELECTED A MEMBER OF 
THE LEGISLATURE — DESERTS THE BRECKINRIDGE PARTY — ON THE COMMITTEE 
ON FEDERAL RELATIONS — SPEECHES — RE-ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATfEE IN 
1861— HE IS STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF THE UNION — ENTERS THE MILITARY 
SERVICE — AT? RICHMOND — FIGHT AT CLAY VILLAGE — A MOST EXCITING FIGHT AT 
LAW'RENCEBURG — COLONEL JACOB WOUNDED — EXCITING SCENE ON HIS RETURN 
TO HIS REGIMENT — ENGAGEMENT ON IOtH OF MARCH, 18G3, WITH MORGAN'S 
ADVANCE— HIS PURSUIT OF MORGAN THROUGH KENTUCKY, INDIANA, AND 
OHIO— ELECTION AS LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF KENTUCKY— HIS SPEECHES. 



EARLY in tlie month of iN'ovember, 1861, tlie 
"writer of tliis book met, in one of the principal 
thoroughfares of the city of Louisville, a lady of no 
ordinary character, when the following conversation 
took place . 

'' I ara informed, madam, that your husband is rais- 
ing a regiment, and expects to go to war in defense of 
his country. Is it true?" 

" Yes, sir, it is true. My husband is a true Union 



272 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

man, loves his country, and will make any sacrifice for 
its preservation." 

" But ^Yhat ^yill you do, on your large farm, witli no 
one with you but your little children ?" 

" Sir, I do not expect to stay on the farm. I intend 
to go with my husband." 

" What good do you hope to accomplish by going 
with your husband to the tented field ?" 

" I expect, sir, to encourage my husband, and take 
care of him when sick or wounded, and to encourage 
every officer and soldier of his command to do his 
duty." 

" Well, madam, I think you will find a cotton tent a 
cheerless place, during the cold rains and snows of this 
wdnter." 

" Sir, I can endure as much as any man that walks 
these streets. Besides, I do not expect to live in a 
cotton tent all winter." 

'' Where do you expect to spend the winter ?" 

" I expect to take my Christmas dinner in Charles- 
ton, South Carolina." 

This woman had enough of the heroic and patriotic 
in her character to make her equal, in these respects, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 273 

to tlie noblest women that lived during the period of 
our great Revolution. She had a strong mind and a 
warm heart, and, withal, was a true Christian and gen- 
nine Presbyterian. She was the daughter of the late 
Hon. T. H. Benton, the sister of Mrs. General J. C. 
Fremont, and the wife of Colonel B. T. Jacob, a sketch 
of whose life we are now about to give to the reader. 
This noble woman has lately fallen " asleep in 
Jesus." She deserves to be remembered; and we 
have introduced her name in this connection, not sim- 
ply because it affords a fit introduction to our subject, 
but because we desire to hold her name in sacred re- 
membrance. " We are delighted to hold in proud and 
perpetual remembrance all those men of past ages 
who, by their learning, their genius, their sufferings, 
or their swords, have battled most bravely for the 
rights of man, and have left their marks the deepest 
on the sands of time. 

" ' Patriots have toiled, and in their country's cause 
Bled nobly, and their deeds, as they deserve, 
Receive proud recompense.' 

In honor of their hallowed dust and then* imperish- 
able deeds, a grateful posterity has loved to pile the 



274 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

monumental column higher and higher, until it meets 
the sun in his coming, and the last rays of departing 
day play around its summit." And why should we not 
delight to hold in perpetual remembrance the heroic 
and patriotic women of this and past generations ? 

We have felt free to pay this poor tribute of respect 
to a departed heroic Christian spirit, because it is a 
departed spirit ; and, in writing this sketch of him who 
is left to mourn his great loss, we can but express our 
regret that we do not feel at liberty to say of him, and 
because he still lives, what we have in our heart to 
say. We will confine our statements to a simple 
record of facts, leaving the reader to draw his own 
inferences. 

Colonel Richard Taylor Jacob was born on the 
13th day of March, 1825, near Saltillo, Oldham 
County, Kentucky, at the home of his great-grand- 
father, Commodore Richard Taylor, an old Revolu- 
tionary sailor, after whom Colonel Jacob was named. 
He is the son of John J. Jacob, who was for many 
years a citizen of Louisville, Kentucky, and who was 
one of the wealthiest men of that city. 

His children inherited his large estate, and, of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 275 

course, his son Richard was a wealthy young man. 
But such was his character that his wealth did not, in 
the least degree, seem to be an injury to him. That 
can not be said of all young men who have inherited 
wealth. In very many instances, the children of 
wealthy parents have turned out to be a curse to 
themselves, theii' parents, and their race. But here is 
one exception to this general rule. AYell does the au- 
thor of these lines remember Colonel Jacob, or, as we 
then called him, " Dick," in our college days. He was 
the only wealthy young man in the class of which he 
was a member, and yet no one would have suspected, 
from his deportment among his fellow-students, that he 
was possessed of very considerable wealth. He was 
remarkable for his modest deportment, was neat in his 
personal appearance, and was in good repute as a 
moral, honorable, and studious young man. His health 
becoming greatly impaired, he resolved to make a 
iourney, over the plains, to California. His friends 
attempted to dissuade him from his purpose, and 
freely expressed to him their belief that he was too 
feeble to undertake so perilous a journey, and that, if 
he did undertake it, he would perish on the plains. 



276 MORGAN? AND HIS CAPTORS. 

To all these entreaties of friends, he replied : '' I will 
not stay here, leading a worthless life. I vfould rather 
leave my bones to bleach upon the plains, in what 
seems to be the path of duty, than stay at home, to be 
worthless, and die in bed.'' 

To carry out the purpose which he had formed, Mr. 
Jacob left his home and friends, in the city of Louis- 
ville, on the 19th day of April, 1846, and started on 
his journey to California. He joined a large party 
of emigrants, near the town of Independence, Mis- 
souri. They started on the overland trip on the 
11th day of May, 1846. On the 12th instant, the 
day following, Mr. Jacob was elected Captain, to com- 
mand one of the four companies into which the party 
was divided. So well did he discharge his duty, 
in his new position, that, in a short time, he was 
elected second in command, and ultimately was 
offered the full command of the party to the Pa- 
cific. He, however, declined the honors thus offered 
to him. 

Owing to the heavy wagon-train, the progress of the 
emigrants was slow. Captain Jacob, not feeling will- 
ing to move at so slow a pace, selected nine men, and 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 277 

\\"ith them undertook the very perilous journey of 
fifteen hundred miles, over what vras then almost an 
unbroken route. 

This was the third party that had made the attempt 
to cross the Great Basin. 

The little party pushed on, bravely encountering 
the many difficulties that they met on the journey. 
For some time their only food was grasshoppers and 
service-berries — rare diet, indeed, for men who had 
been accustomed to the refinements of civilized life ! 

They safely arrived, however, in California, in the 
latter part of the month of August. 

Soon after this. Captain Jacob raised a company, 
and joined the force under command of Colonel (now 
General) John C. Fremont, and was put in command 
of a scouting party, which was on the move day 
and night, almost without intermission. He seldom 
failed to catch the spies and scouts of the enemy, 
and kept the command well informed of all their 
movements. 

It will be remembered that, on the 20th of January, 
1847, or about that time, the enemy surrendered to 
Colonel Fremont. Seeing that the war was virtually 



278 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

at an end in California, Captain Jacob asked for and 
obtained leave to return to the states. He returned 
by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Before he left 
San Diego, California, he received a letter from Col- 
onel Fremont, recommending him to '' the world" as a 
gentleman and a good officer, and that, too, in the 
highest terms. 

He reached the states on the 1st of May, 1847, and 
immediately proceeded to Washington City, and ap- 
plied for an appointment in the army that was about 
to move into Mexico, but failed to secure the desired 
appointment. 

In the month of September following, the President 
called for twenty companies of volunteers. Captain 
Jacob at once commenced the work of recruiting, and, 
in a few days, had a full company, and offered it 
to the government. In the mean time as many as 
thirty-two companies were raised and offered to the 
government, but only twenty could be accepted, and 
Captain Jacob's wa.s one of those which were rejected. 

Thus, after two praiseworthy efforts, he was com- 
pelled to abandon the idea of taking part in the 
Mexican war. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 279 

lie was called to attend the Fremont court-martial, 
as a witness, at "Washington City ; and, while there, 
married Sarah, the third daughter of Hon. T. H. Ben- 
ton, on January 17, 1848. 

In the month of March, 1849, he started again for 
California, for the purpose of recovering his health, 
which had again become very poor ; but, by the time 
he reached the Isthmus of Panama, he was so en- 
feebled that he could not proceed on his journey, but 
was compelled to return to his home. 

In the fall of 1849 he moved to the state of Mis- 
souri, and purchased a farm near the town of Boone- 
ville, hoping that active out-door life would benefit 
him. While living on his farm, his physician dis- 
covered that all his poor health was the result of a 
fall which he had when a boy ; and, with proper rem- 
edies, he was gradually restored to health, but not 
until he had been near death's door. 

The climate of Missouri did not seem to agree with 
Mrs. Jacob, and he again returned to his old home at 
Louisville, and shortly afterward pM-chased a large 
farm on the Ohio River, in Oldham County, just be- 
low the village of Westport. 



280 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

On the 1st of January, 1854, Captain Jacob, on 
profession of faith, united with the First Presbyterian 
Church of Louisville, then under the pastoral care of 
Rev. William L. Breckinridge, D. D., a most worthy 
minister of the Gospel. The Captain had a number 
of relatives in that Church, among whom was the 
gallant Colonel Pope, who w^as a ruling elder, and of 
whom we have spoken in a previous part of this work. 
Afterward both the Captain and his wife united with 
the little Church at "VYestport, where they exerted a 
most excellent influence for good, minghng freely witlr 
the poorest members of the Church, and, no doubt, 
sincerely regarding them as brethren beloved in the 
Lord. He was elected and ordained a ruling elder in 
the Church it Westport, and now holds that important 
office. 

We may aot be correct in our opinion, but we have 
sometimes ihought we could see elements of character 
in Colonel Jacob not unlike those of " Old L'on- 
sides" — we mean Oliver Cromwell. Whether he had 
any psalm singing in his camps or not, or whether his 
soldiers went into battle singing or not, we can not 
say; but this we know, that he did, in every way in 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 281 

his power, encourage every good and Christian work 
among his soldiers. He carried his religion with hira 
into the camp. And, in this respect, he is a standing 
rebuke to those godless officers of the army who 
manifest so much contempt for chaplains and every 
thing of a religious character, and who are profoundly 
ignorant of the fact that the bravest soldiers the 
world ever saw were Christian soldiers. In confirma- 
tion of what has just been stated concerning the char- 
acter of Colonel Jacob, we give the following proof 
only. We might add other proof, but this is sufficient 
to evince in him a sincere desire for the spiritual 
welfare of the soldiers : 

"Galt House, October 13, 1863. 
"Jl/r. Isaac Russell: 

" Dear Sir— I have watched with great interest 
the work being executed by the Christian Commission. 
It is true, owing to the very active service of our Ken- 
tucky cavalry for the last twelve months, I have not 
seen as much of the work as those commanding in- 
fantry ; still, I have seen sufficient to justify me in 
saying the Commission is doing a great and noble 
work. I have had my camp visited by gentlemen 



282 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

belonging to the Commission, and found the men 
always pleased to see them, and rejoiced to obtain 
reading matter. Soldiers, accustomed to an exciting 
life, must have something to amuse them when they 
return to camp. If they have not books, they are 
apt to take to card-playing. I have noticed, with 
pleasure, as a general thing, they prefer books, espe- 
cially the Bible. I have distributed two hundred Test- 
aments, in a very short space of time, among my 
soldiers. They came, in many instances, voluntarily 
to obtain them ; and those who came too late, the 
supply being exhausted, appeared to be much disap- 
pointed. Also, when the Commission w^ould leave 
packages of books with me for distribution, they 
would be taken directly by the men. 

" I give these instances to show with what avidity 
the soldiers receive the books that the Commission 
distributes, hoping that it may prove an incentive to 
the members to pursue their glorious work. 

"■ With the prayer that a Divine Providence may 
abundantly bless the work of the Commission to the 
salvation of the souls of many noble men, who are 
defending with their lives the heritage of our fathers, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 283 

and not only theirs, but also the souls of many of our 
misguided brethren, who may come under their foster- 
ing care, 

" I remain, very sincerely and truly, 

"Richard T. Jacob, 

"Colonel of the late Ninth Kentucky Cavalry." 

In 1859 the name of Captain Jacob was suggested, 
throiigli the public prints, by a number of his fellow- 
citizens, and that, too, without consultation with him, 
as a suitable person to represent the county in the 
next Legislature. Although comparatively a stranger, 
he received the nomination as a candidate ; and, after 
a thorough canvass of the county, was elected by a 
large majority. The distinction which he won for him- 
self during the regular session of the Legislature fully 
satisfied his constituents that they had sent the right 
man to' the right place. He was afterward appointed 
an assistant Breckinridge elector, and made many 
speeches, during the Presidential canvass, in favor of 
Major Breckinridge. He always, and in every speech, 
professed undying attachment to the Union, and most 

sincerely believed that it was a calumny to call Major 
24 



284 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Breckinrid2;e a disunionist. He was a member of the 
extraordinary sessions of the Kentucky Legislature, 
the first of which commenced in January, and the 
second of which ended in June. It was at this time 
that Captain Jacob became fully satisfied that Major 
Breckinridge and his whole party, except himself and 
one other member in the Legislature, were secession- 
ists. At once he gave them to understand that they 
had deceived the people, and told them boldly that 
he would wipe his hands of the '■^ivliole concern J^ 

He was afterward appointed a member of the Com- 
mittee on Federal Relations, and, while acting in 
that capacity, wrote a series of resolutions, which 
were adopted as the majority report of the Committee. 
The Legislature adopted only three of the resolutions. 
The design of the paper w^as to set forth the media- 
torial and neutral position of Kentucky — a position 
which, at the time, was accepted both by Union men 
and secessionists. Both parties expected to receive 
great advantage from it, and it proved to be of great 
advantage both to Kentucky and the General Govern- 
ment. The state has been greatly censured for as- 
suming a position for which there was no warrant in 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 285 

the Constitution, and which seemed to acknowledge 
the Southern Confederacy as an independent nation, 
and on a parity with the government of the United 
States. 

It is not our purpose now to discuss this question, 
but we desire to state that, while Captain Jacob advo- 
cated the mediatorial and neutral position, he did so 
from motives that were pure, loyal, and in the highest 
degree patriotic. He behoved that it was the only 
position, at the time, that could save the state from 
being hurled headlong into the vortex of secession. 

It is proper to state that, at that period, the lower 
branch of the Legislature was nearly equally divided 
between the two parties. The vote stood forty-eight 
for the Union and forty-seven for secession. About 
six out of the forty-eight Union men were not con- 
sidered very reliable. Captain Jacob, by casting his 
vote with the Union members, made a majority of 
one. It is wonderful that the state was not lost, at 
that time, to the Union. 

The position of Captain Jacob at this time was ex- 
tremely embarrassing ; but, in a short time, his burn- 
ing patriotism won for him the good opinion of all the 



286 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Union members. It will be seen, from what has just 
been stated, that the Union members were forced to do 
what they did, or else give up the state to anarchy and 
secession. If they had taken the position of " coer- 
cion *' at that period of time, they would have lost the 
six doubtful votes, and would have thrown the Union 
party in the Senate into the minority. The secession 
majority of both houses would then have instantly 
voted ten millions of dollars for the defense of the 
state ; the arms purchased would have been placed in 
the hands of secessionists ; the Union men would have 
been unarmed, overawed ; and the state would have 
been hurled into secession, and the Confederate army 
immensely strengthened. 

Thus the Union party, by agreeing to the media- 
torial position, for the time being, and professing, 
at the same time, undying allegiance to the General 
Government, as " the palladium of our liberties," foiled 
the secession leaders, kept a working majority in the 
House, armed the Union men of the state, instead of 
secessionists, and, when the conflict came, the Union 
men were, at least, partly prepared for the terrible 
conflict. 



MORaAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 287 

We think that we can state, with a considerable de- 
gree of correctness, the reasons that influenced Cap- 
tain Jacob in favor of the mediatorial and neutral po- 
sition of Kentucky — or, rather, the Legislature of the 
state, for it is well known that there were thousands 
of Union citizens opposed to this position, even at that 
time. 

The war had not then actually begun, and Captain 
Jacob believed that it was right and proper to save 
the country from its horrors, if it could be done by a 
satisfactory compromise. He firmly believed that, in 
a military point of view, it was the best thing that 
could be done, under the circumstances. It perfectly 
protected seven hundred and fifty miles of territory 
along the Ohio River, gave the nation time to concen- 
trate its military forces along that important line, and 
time to prepare for the great contest, while it saved 
not less than one hundred thousand Kentucky soldiers 
from being forced into the service of the Confederate 
army. 

The following resolutions will explain the views of 

Captain Jacob, in regard to neutrality, better than we 

. can. Any one who will read these resolutions will 



288 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

have a clear idea of his views, and will not have s 
doubt of his patriotism and unconditional love of the 
Union : 

RESOLUTIONS IN RELATION TO NEUTRALITY, ETC. 
By Captain Jacob, of Oldham County. 

" 1. Resolved^ by the General Assembly of the Cornmomvealth 
of Kentucky, That Kentucky has always looked upon the 
Union of the states and the preservation of liberty as one and 
inseparable, now and forever, 

" 2. Resolved, That we assumed neutrality and mediation, 
not to destroy, but to preserve, the unity of the states; not to 
cast off our allegiance to the Federal Government, but to try 
and win back peaceably, by proper mediation and compromise, 
the seceded states to their allegiance. 

" 3. Resolved, That when we assumed neutrality, we intended 
it merely as an abej^ance of our constitutional duty, by the 
sufferance, not independence, of the General Government, nor 
for the selfish purpose alone of preserving our peace, but for 
the far nobler and holier purpose of refraining from the com- 
bat, so that we could appeal both to the North and South to 
stay the fratricidal and unnatural combat, and to offer our 
services as mediator to adjust the difficulties that, unhappily, 
had arisen, and restore the work of our fathers. 

" 4. Resolved, therefore, That when the General Government 
occupies our soil for its defense, in pursuance of a constitutional 
right, it neither compromises our assumed neutrality nor gives 
the right to the Confederate forces to invade oi;r state, on the 
assumption that our neutrality has been violated, especially 
when they first set foot upon our soil upon the plea of military 
necessity. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 289 

" 5. Resolved^ further^ That the honor of Kentucky will not 
permit her to make any concessions or compromises to the 
Confederate forces as long as one hostile foot presses her soil. 

" 6. Resolved^ That Kentucky's neutrality has not been as- 
sumed from fear, but from love to all parts of the Union ; and 
if she is forced into this combat, that, with a brave heart and 
cbar conscience, she will appeal fearlessly to the God of bat- 
tles ; and, if that dread hour must come, Kentucky expects 
every son to do his duty. She appeals to them by all the cher- 
ished memories of the past : by the memory of Eaisin, of New 
Orleans, of Buena Vista, by all the rich hopes of the future, 
she demands that they stand by her until the last armed in- 
vader is driven from her soil. Who will be so base as to de- 
sert her? Who will stand before history as both traitor and 
covv-ard to the state whose great heart throbs with undying 
love to the sisterhood of states, knowing no sectional limits, 
but, in her love, embracing a boundless continent? If there be 
such a one, may his name be branded with infamy to the 
remotest time !" 

The above resolutions were adopted in both Houses, 
without a call of the yeas and nays. 

The speeches made by Captain Jacob, when he 
was a member of the Legislature, were, with one 
exception, very brief. He made it a rule never to 
take up the time of the House unnecessarily. He 
seemed to have the happy faculty of seeing clearly 
the • arguments that were pertinent, and frequently 
presented them with great power. 



290 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

He was reelected to the Legislature of 1861 by a 
very largely increased vote over his previous elec- 
tion. 

The tvfo Houses of the Legislature convened the first 
week in September, 1861. That week was big with 
the most important events, although half the people 
of Kentucky were ignorant at the time of the terrible 
storm that was about to burst upon them. During 
this week the state was invaded by a large Confed- 
erate army, and, at the same time, a great conspiracy 
was about to break out in the very midst of the peo- 
ple, but which was provided for and defeated, as we 
have shown in the first chapter of this work. The 
Legislature was not captured or dispersed, and one 
made up of conspirators put in its place, as was in- 
tended. 

During this session of the Legislature, Captain Ja- 
cob took decided steps for war, in favor of the govern- 
ment, and against the Confederacy. 

Some time in the month of October following, Cap- 
tain Jacob commenced raising a regiment of infantry. 
Before his regiment was filled, an order was issued to 
consolidate the skeleton regiments of the state. The 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 291 

men enlisted by Captain Jacob were placed in the 
Tliirteentli Kentucky Regiment of Infantry. This 
order prevented him from entering, for a time, the 
military service of his country, as he greatly desired. 
Probably it was well for the country that it was so, for 
he made a number of effective speeches, where they 
were needed, in ftivor of the war and the government, 
during the few following months. 

We now come to consider the military career of 
Captain Jacob, which, in the great civil conflict of our 
country, is one of no ordinary interest. 

In the month of July, 18G2, John II. Morgan, the 
noted guerrilla chieftain, invaded the state of Ken- 
tucky, and moved about with very considerable free- 
dom. He seemed to do very much as he pleased. 
Captain Jacob felt outraged by this whole affair, and 
at once made a proposition, through the public jour- 
nals, to be one of fifteen hundred or two thousand 
men, who should arm and equip themselves, at their 
own expense, for the pursuit and overthrow of Mor- 
gan and his forces; and, had not Morgan fled h^m 
the state. Captain Jacob would have raised thousands 

of the best young men of Kentucky to carry out his 
25 



292 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

purpose. Communications poured in upon him from 
every part of the state, from young men, accepting his 
proposition. 

Afterward he was offered a commission as Colonel, 
to raise a regiment of cavalry, of twelve hundred and 
fifty men, to serve for twelve months, which he ac- 
cepted. 

In less than three weeks after receiving his com- 
mission, he raised two thousand five hundred men 
for the cavalry service, but was not permitted to 
keep more than one regiment. This regiment has 
made for itself a name that will live in the annals of 
history. 

Having been mustered into the service of the United 
States, it marched at once to meet the enemy, who were 
then under the command of Generals Bragg, Smith, 
and Morgan, invading the state of Kentucky. 

One week after this, part of one company of this 
regiment were acting as a body-guard to General 1^ el- 
son, and were captured at the disastrous battle of 
Richmond. 

The night after the defeat of General l^elson's 
forces, Colonel Jacob, under command of General 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 293 

Jackson, arrived within one and a half miles of Rich- 
mond, with the greater part of his regiment, to- 
ge-ther with the Ninth Pennsylvania Regiment of Cav- 
alry, before he knew of the defeat of Nelson. They 
at once retreated, and marched all night, and all 
of the following day, and reached Lexington, after 
having been in the saddle and on the march thirty-six 
hours. 

The first engagement that seems to us to be of suf- 
ficient importance to record, was the one into which 
Qplonel Jacob led his men, near Clay Village, in 
Shelby County. 

One half of his regiment had been sent, under 
command of its Lieutenant-Colonel, with General 
Buell. Colonel Jacob, with his remaining force, met 
and bravely fought Scott's rebel brigade, composed of 
one Georgia, the First Louisiana, and Stearns's Ten- 
nessee Regiments. 

The infantry first drove them from the woods, in 
which they had taken shelter. Colonel Jacob then or- 
dered his fragment of a regiment to charge. Bravely 
they threw themselves upon the rebel brigade — their 
Colonel leading, in the very front — and, strange to tell, 



294 MOHGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

this handful of brave men drove the enemy two railos 
from all support. 

Colonel Jacob then saw that there was danger that 
his little force would be outflanked. He promptly ran 
his men back about a quarter of a mile, then suddenly 
wheeled, and made another charge, which, to the en- 
emy, seemed perfectly irresistible, for they fled, 
panic-stricken, '' pellmell," before this little, but he- 
roic, force of cavalry, to Frankfort, the Capital of 
the state. 

They carried the panic with them into the town, and 
started Bragg and the whole "rebel concern" that 
had just been engaged in inaugurating one Hawes as 
rebel Governor of Kentucky, 

Colonel Jacob received the highest praise for this 
heroic achievement from General Kirk — ^that brave 
Illinois soldier, who fell, mortally wounded, in the ter- 
rible battle of Stone River 

Previous to this fight, the infantry of the division 
w^ith which the Ninth Regiment was connected had a 
very poor opinion of cavalry; but, ever afterward, 
they had a higher appreciation of this arm of the 
service, and especially of the Ninth and their brave 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 295 

officers. They were the "pets" of the division to 
which they belonged. 

On Wednesday, the 8th day of October, 1862, the 
day of the battle of Perryyille, Colonel Jacob's regi- 
ment was attacked by a very large force of cavalry. 
This was a hand-to-hand engagement. Colonel 
Alston, of South Carolina, and Colonel Jacob, were 
personally engaged. Their pistols were, at one time, 
and for several minutes, not more than three feet from 
each other's heads. Colonel Jacob's pistol failed to 
fire, three successive times. By changing the position 
of his horse, he forced Colonel Alston to change his 
position a few feet ; and this time his pistol fired, and 
Colonel Alston fell from his horse. Colonel Jacob 
then turned around to encourage his men, and found 
that they had been forced back by superior numbers, 
while he was engaged with their Colonel in this hand- 
to-hand fight, and that a long line of rebel cavalry was 
between himself and his regiment. 

The Colonel then rode rapidly to a commanding po- 
sition near by, and commenced cheering his men, with 
a stentorian voice, over the heads of the enemy's cav- 
alry, that were betAveen himself and his regiment, and 



296 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOES. 

who were fighting, at the time, hke demons. '^ My 
brave boi/s," cried the Colonel, " do n^t give hack an 
inch! Charge! charge ihem !'^ They heard the voice 
of their brave commander above the din of battle, and 
saw his peril ; they rushed forward — the enemy fell 
back. 

But while Colonel Jacob was encouraging his troops, 
from his prominent and exposed position, he was 
suddenly surrounded by nine of the enemy, who at- 
tempted to drag him from his horse. By the move- 
ments of his horse, and a constant effort to fire at 
them, he kept them at bay; but, unfortunately, his 
pistol would not fire. The enemy were closing in 
upon him, when one of their number ran from a fence- 
corner, just at the back of the Colonel, and, with a 
Bowie-knive in his hand, and that hand outstretched 
over the rump of his horse, was about to make the 
fatal thrust, when the noble horse gave the assassin a 
kick that sent him, heels over head, in the rear. The 
horse then, springing forward, cleared the Colonel 
from his assailants. They poured a storm of bullets 
after him, as he fled, doing him no damage, except 
shooting his cap from his head, and inflicting a slight 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 297 

wound on his forehead. But he was not yet freed 
from the perilous situation. 

The Colonel galloped on with his horse, and his as- 
sailants followed after him. He saw a fence before 
him, and then he began to despair of escape. Before 
reaching the fence, he saw one of his men near by, 
and called to him to throw off the top rails, which he 
did promptly, and his horse sprang over. The noble 
animal moved on, the Colonel sitting sidcAvays in his 
saddle, watching his pursuers, when suddenly he dis- 
covered a man near by him, whom he took to be a 
Home Guard, but who shot the Colonel while trying 
to determine whether he was friend or foe. The ball 
passed through the fleshy part of the breast, making 
a hole three or four inches above the heart, and then 
passed through the large muscle of the arm, very 
close to the artery. 

His foe, as soon as he shot him, cried out, 

" Halt ! surrender !" 

*' I won't do it ! " the Colonel laconically re- 
plied. 

" I will make you halt ! " said the rebel. 

"Come and try it!" said the Colonel, as he moved 



298 MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

on from tlie field of action, with the blood dripping 
from his wound, and down the sides of his steed. 

Just at this time the Colonel discovered a wide gully 
before him, and, knowing that he was badly wounded, 
thought it prudent to put it between himself and his 
enemy, before he made battle. He therefore put the 
spurs to his horse, and, with a bound, the noble animal 
cleared the ditch. Immediately he turned around to 
give battle ; but, to his great joy, he saw his pursuer 
stretched out on the ground. 

Some skirmishers from the Fifteenth Regiment of 
Ohio Volunteers, and some of Colonel Jacob's own 
men, had put five balls through him. Strange to say, 
that man recovered. 

Thus, after being in the very jaws of death, the 
Colonel rejoined his regiment. In the mean time they 
had defeated the enemy. 

Colonel Jacob was then put into an ambulance, and 
followed the army for three days, hoping that he 
would be sufficiently recovered of his wounds m a 
short time to resume command ; but on the fourth 
day, by order of Brigadier-General Sill, he was sent 
to Louisville until he w^as fit for duty. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 299 

As soon as the Colonel recovered from his wounds 
he returned to his regiment. When he arrived at the 
encampment the rain was pouring down in torrents; 
but the news spread rapidly from tent to tent, and the 
soldiers came rushing out through the rain to wel- 
come their leader with shouts that could be heard a 
mile distant. Every man rushed up to him to press 
him by the hand. No speeches were made by either 
party after the shout of welcome. Their hearts were 
too full for utterance. They stood in each other's 
presence bathed in tears. Strange sight ! The very 
men who had seen their comrades and foes lying all 
around them bleeding, wounded, mangled, and dead, 
more than once on the field of carnage, and that, too, 
without a tear, now wept like children ! The brave 
love the brave, and can weep for joy as well as for 
sorrow. 

The next engagement in which Colonel Jacob took 
part, and \^hich is well worth}?- of record, was on the 
10th of May, 1863. He had aided in driving the 
enemy into Tennessee. When he returned to Ken- 
tucky from the chase into Tennessee, he was ordered 
by General Carter to recross the Cumberland River 



300 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

at Jamestown. Owing to very heavy rains for sev- 
eral daySj the river had become very much swollen, 
so much so that the water was ten feet deep on the 
fords. He had but one small boat, which could not 
hold more than five horses at a time. This, of course, 
would make the process of crossing somewhat tedious 
and sloAV, and so the Colonel ordered his command to 
swim the river. 

At that time he was commanding a brigade com- 
posed of three regiments of cavalry — the Twen- 
tieth Regiment of Michigan Infantry, the Twenty- 
fourth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, and one section 
of two pieces of artiliery. The infantry and artillery 
were placed in a position to protect the cavalry while 
they were engaged in swimming the river. Colonel 
Jacob immediately started out one hundred of his sol- 
diers, selected from the Ninth and TAvelfth Kentucky 
Cavalry and the Twentieth Michigan Regiments, un- 
der the command of Captains Wiltsie, Wilson, and 
Searcy, for the purpose of destroying a band of guer- 
rillas. 

The little force succeeded in capturing a num- 
ber of the gang, but fell in with what proved to be 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 301 

tlie advance of John Morgan. They, however, sup- 
posed the enemy to be the band commanded by the 
notorious Champ Ferguson, who neither asked nor 
gave quarters, and they fought most desperately, and 
succoeded in making good their escape. 

Colonel Jacob received information concerning this 
affair about sunset. Immediately he crossed the river 
with a few officers and men, and ordered five hun- 
dred and seventy-five of the infantry and dismounted 
cavalry to follow. He at once hurried up to the " Nar- 
rows," in the Horse-shoe Bottom, a place of great 
natural strength. 

At this point he found part of the expedition, who 
had escaped by way of the main road. Pickets were 
stationed, and the Colonel and his little force slept in 
the "Narrows" that night. 

At eight o'clock the next (Sabbath) morning. May 
10, the pickets were driven in. At first Colonel Jacob 
supposed the enemy to be a small band of guerrillas, 
and, not wishing to expose his men more than might 
be necessary, concluded to make an Indian fight; that 
is, fight from behind the trees. 

This was kept up for several hours, when the Colo- 



302 MORGAN AND IIIS CAPTOHS. 

nel informed his officers that they were evidently fight- 
ing the advance of a large force. In order to determ- 
ine whether this was really the fact or not, a piece 
of artillery was sent for. The distance from this place 
to the river was four miles, and seven hours and 
fifteen minutes elapsed before the artillery arrived. 
The Colonel massed a small force of three hundred 
and fifty men from the Michigan regiment, and one 
hundred from the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, and 
kept in reserve about one hundred and twenty-five 
dismounted cavalry. 

The artillery captain was a very brave man, but 
was somewhat nervous about his cannon, fearing that 
he might lose it in the engagement. The Colonel said 
to him, " I will give you another, if you lose the one 
you now have, and ordered him to a commanding 
position, from which he suddenly opened on the enemy, 
and then the order was given to charge. The little 
band charged up to the very face of the enemy, who 
were behind rail-pens and houses. The artillery 
knocked down the houses, and the enemy marched 
out in double-quick time. The enemy, two regi- 
ments in number, were about to surrender, when 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 303 

Morgan arrived with seven fresh regiments, and pre- 
cipitated them upon this noble little band. They 
fought this large force of the enemy for some 
time most heroically, but finally gave way before su- 
perior numbers. During the engagement, Colonel 
Jacob ordered the artillery to break the massed 
columns of the enemy with shell, as they had no 
grape with them. The artillery threw shell after 
shell into the ranRs of the enemy at the short dis- 
tance of not more than two hundred and fifty yards, 
which scattered them in every direction. The Col- 
onel then ordered his men to fall back into the 
"Narrows," in order to prevent the enemy from 
fiankino; his force. He then commenced retreating; 
with the men, who were worn out by a hard day's 
fight, and so placed his reserve force, of one hun- 
dred and tAventy-five men, that they completely 
covered his retreat, and held Morgan's force in 
check. 

As soon as they arrived at the river, a messen 
ger overtook them, and informed the Colonel that 
Morgan had sent in a flag of truce, demanding an 
unconditional surrender, but the Colonel replied 



304 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

"that lie would not surrender until tie had fired the 
last shot in the locker." He then ordered the officer 
to retreat with the reserve force as soon as the flag of 
truce left. The order was promptly obeyed, and the 
retreat conducted without the loss of a man. They 
left three pickets, expecting that they would fall into 
the hands of the enemy, dead or alive. The pickets, 
finding that they were deserted, deliberately fired into 
the pickets of the enemy, and then darted away into 
the hills, and made good their escape. In the mean 
time Colonel Jacob recrossed the river with his en- 
tire force. 

Thus the little band of four hundred and fifty men 
encountered a force numbering not less than four 
thousand five hundred men, and fought them for forty- 
five minutes. Those who witnessed it testify that it 
was an extremely fierce conflict. The Federal loss 
was forty-four killed, wounded, and missing. The 
rebel loss was one hundred and fifty-seven killed, and 
many wounded. The houses for miles around were 
filled with their wounded. Morgan, at this time, was 
on the march for the purpose of making an extensive 
raid through Kentucky. This fight was the means of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 305 

checking him, and kept him back for two months, and 
at a time when the state was poorly prepared to meet 
the great raider and his hosts. This was the first time 
that Morgan had been foiled in his attempts to invade 
Kentucky. 

We need not, in this connection, give any lengthy 
account of the part taken by Colonel Jacob and his 
regiment in the capture of Morgan. It will be suffi- 
cient to say that they met the famous guerrilla chief- 
tain at Marrowbone, and there most bravely resisted 
his advance, in the commencement of the great raid 
through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, and never gave 
up the chase until Morgan and his force were cap- 
tured. It was Major Rue, of Colonel Jacob's com- 
mand, with detachments from the Ninth and Eleventh 
Kentucky Cavalry, that finally captured the great 
guerrilla. 

An account of the fight at Marrowbone, just al- 
luded to, will be found in the sketch of Brigadier- 
General Hobson, in another part of this book. 

General Hobson said of Colonel Jacob and his 
regiment, that " they deserved great credit for the 
manner in which they received the charge of the 



306 MOr.GAN AND HIS CAPTOE^. 

enemy at Marrowbone, and the manner in which they 
repulsed them. Colonel Jacob's conduct on that 
occasion," said the General, " was gallant and praise- 
worthy." 

To this highly honorable testimony to his character 
as a military commander, we may add the following 
correspondence, which will show the estimate in which 
he was held by soldiers and civilians, who had a fair 
opportunity of weighing his character and knowing it-3 
value in this respect : 

" Camp Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, ) 
"Near Lebanon, Ky., March 9, 1863. J 

" Colonel R. T. Jacob : 

" Sir — In behalf of the field, staff, and line officers 
of your regiment, allow us to ask your acceptance of 
this sword, as a slight testimonial of the high esteem 
we have for you as a gallant officer, a true gentleman, 
and a friend of the soldier, being satisfied that we could 
not bestow the gift upon one more worthy, and that 
you will not permit it to become tarnished by rust 
while the weal of your country demands it, as evi- 
denced by your gallantry at Clay Village and other 
engagements with the enemy while invading our state, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 307 

but particularly upon the field at Lawrenceburg, when 

you received the scars you so nobly wear. 

" We are, Colonel, very respectfully, your obedient 

servants, "George W. Rue, Major. 

"William Bailey, Surgeon. 

"J. H. Burns, Captain. 

"Frank H. Pope, Lieut, and Adjt." 

"Camp near Lebanon, Ky., March 9, 1863. 

^^ Messrs. George W. Hue, Major; William Bailey, Surgeon; J. H. 
Burns, Captain; and Frank H. Pope, Lieutenant and Adju- 
tant : 

" Gentlemen of the Committee — Permit me, 
through you, to express to the field, stafi", and line 
officers of my regiment, my thanks for the beautiful 
sword they have so delicately and unexpectedly pre- 
sented to me. It is, indeed, a great compliment to be 
styled a ' gallant officer, a true gentleman, and friend 
of the soldier,' by those who have been so intimately 
associated with me by the camp-fire, in the hospital 
by the side of the sick soldier, and on the battle-field 
where the deadly struggle has taken place for the 
honor of the flag and the preservation of the unity 

of the country, and the perpetuity of freedom. I will 
2G 



808 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

pledge you, gentlemen, that ' no rust shall tarnish ' 
the blade of my beautiful present as long as the cause 
of my country demands it. With the battle-cry of 
*One flag, one country, and the Constitution bequeathed 
to us by our fathers,' we will be invincible. No man 
can wish for peace, no one can love his countrymen, 
of all sections, more than I do ; but there can be no 
peace as long as an armed traitor remains. Before 
that halcyon day of peace can come, there must be an 
unconditional submission to the laws, the flag, and the 
Constitution. We must not sheathe the sword, my 
beloved companions in arms, until our beloved Ken- 
tucky nestles and sleeps within the bosom of a great, 
united, and peaceful nation. Until that day comes, 
as most assuredly, under a Divine Providence, it will, 
there will be no peace for our beloved native state. 
Torn, distracted, and desolate, she will be but the 
pathway of contending armies. What is much to 
other states is life to Kentucky. Her very existence 
depends upon the states. The lives of her citizens 
and the safety and preservation of their property 
demand of her true sons no compromise until there 
is unconditional submission to the laws of the land, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 309 

and tlie preservation of the unity of the country is 
secured. Nature herself, with her many beautiful 
rivers flowing into one great artery — the rivers of the 
North flowing to the South, and the rivers of the 
South flowing to the North — demands that we shall 
remain one people and one nation. The perpetuity 
of freedom demands it; and, with our good and trusty 
swords, we will make the demand good. 

" In conclusion, gentlemen, after making an apol- 
ogy for digressing, permit me again to thank you 
for your kind words, your beautiful present; and 
believe me, sincerely and truly, 
" Your devoted friend, 

" Richard T. Jacob, 

"Colonel Ninth Kentucky Cavalry." 

"Jamestown, Russell Co., Ky., November 3, 1863 
"The citizens of the border counties were called 
together, in convention, at Jamestown, Russell County, 
Kentucky, on the 3d day of November, 1863, the Cir- 
cuit Court being in session, for the purpose of taking 
some action as to the defense of the border. 

" The convention being called to order, and the ob- 



310 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ject explained by a short and appropriate speech by 
Judge W. M. Green, of Russell, Nathan McCluer was 
chosen President and William A. Jones Secretary. 

" On motion, the President appointed a committee, 
consisting of T. T. Alexander, of Adair ; M. H. Ows- 
ley, of Cumberland ; E. Coffey, of Casey ; G. Y/. Hust, 
of Clinton; H. P. Gadbesy, of Pulaski; W. M. Green 
and J. A. Williams, of Russell, to draft resolutions ex- 
pressing the sense of the convention. 

" The committee, after retiring for a short time to 
their rooms, reported the following resolutions, which 
were unanimously adopted : 

'^ Resolved, That, whereas the border counties of 
Kentucky are now afflicted with evils and troubles of 
the most alarming character, resulting from depreda- 
tions from armed bands of guerrillas and robbers, who 
are plundering, murdering, and robbing our citizens 
almost daily, and the civil laws of the land are almost 
entirely valueless, for want of power to enforce them ; 
and whereas. Colonel R. T. Jacob, formerly of tho 
Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, wdiile with us for our pro- 
tection and defense, so conducted himself as a soldier 
and a gentleman, as also his regiment of gallant offi- 



MORGAN AXD IIIS CAPTORS. 311 

cers and soldiers, as to secure the full and perfect con- 
fidence of all good citizens ; therefore, we, the people 
of Adair, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Pulaski, and 
Russell, assembled in convention at Jamestown, Rus- 
sell County, Kentucky, return to Colonel Jacob and 
his gallant band our heart-felt thanks for their timely 
aid and protection heretofore given us ; and, while we 
do not desire to take^Colonel Jacob from the duties of 
tlie high position which the people of Kentucky have 
recently conferred upon him, yet we most earnestly 
desire and request that he will organize the gal- 
lant old Ninth, and that he will again be permitted 
to come among us, and bring quiet again to our 
people. 

" T. T. Alexander, of Adair. 

"M. H. Owsley, of Cumberland. 

" G. W. HusT, of Clinton. 

" E. Coffey, of Casey. 

" A. J. Gadbesy, of Pulaski. 

" W. M. Green, of Russell. 

" J. A. Williams, of Russell. 

^^ Resolved, That the proceedings of this convention 
be published in the Louisville papers, and that a copy 



312 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

be forwarded to Colonel Jacob, and that all the Ken 
tucky papers be requested to copy. 

" On motion, the convention adjourned. 

'' Nathan McCluer, President. 

"Wm. a. Jones, Secretary^ 

"Clifton, 'November 26, 1863. 

^'•To Messrs. Nathan McCluer^ President; Wm. A. Jo7ies, Sec- 
retary ; and T. T. A lexander, of Adair ; M. H. Owsley, 
of Cumberland; G. W. Hust, of Clinton; E. Coffey, of 
Casey; A. J. Gadbesy, of Pulaski; W. M. Green, J. A. 
Williams, of Russell ; Committee of the Convention held at 
Jamestown, November 3, 1863 : 

" Gentlemen — The proceedings of the convention 
held at Jamestown were received in due time. It was 
my wish to have seen the Governor before I answered, 
but my business has prevented me from doing so ; 
and, fearing you may misunderstand my silence, I an- 
swer, as far as I can, now. 

" I understand from those who have conversed with 
the Governor that all the twelve-month regiments for 
the defense of the state are already organized. There- 
fore, if I were to call the gallant men of the Ninth 
Kentucky Cavalry together, it would have to be for 
three years, and they would not be retained for the 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 313 

defense of the border, but immediately sent to tbo 
front, whicli would not meet the wishes of ourselves 
and people. I had a conversation with General Ilob- 
son, who was kind enough to give me an outline of his 
plan for defending the border from the desperate men 
who have so sorely afflicted it. He w^ill pardon me 
for saying that I approve of it fully ; and I have no 
doubt, if he is permitted to carry it out, will not only 
protect the border to a very great degree, but will de- 
stroy many of the scoundrels Avho desolate it. He is 
keenly alive to your pitiable condition ; and I feel as- 
sured, if given the proper force and disposition of it, 
will adequately protect you. 

" Whether or not I will be permitted to raise my 
brave old Ninth and go to assist in your defense, I 
most certainly will aid your gallant Governor, who is 
using every exertion to protect all parts of the state, 
with all the energy that I possess. You may rest as- 
sured that every effort made for your defense will meet 
with my hearty approval and earnest cooperation, and 
that nothing would please me more than to be again at 
the head of my gallant reghnent, battling in defense 
of your firesides. 



314 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

" When I first went to your assistance, last spring, 
I felt a lively interest in your welfare, because you 
had stripped yourselves of suitable protection, by 
sending the flower of your youth to defend the honor 
S;iid unity of our country, assailed by recreant traitors. 
Now that I have been among you, and have learned to 
love your true, w^arm-hearted, patriotic population, I 
would feil it an honor to w^ear myself out, and, if 
necessary^ to give up my life, in y^nr defense. 

" With many thanks for the distinguished compli- 
ment whii ii so gallant and patriotic a people have 
paid to m/self and regiment, 

^' I remain, gentlemen, 
<' 7ery truly and sincerely your friend, 

"Richard T. Jacob." 

It will be remembered that the regiment commanded 
by Colonel Jacob was enlisted only for a term of 
twelve months. During that time his character as a 
patriot and soldier had been such, and so bravely did 
ho defend the interests, the property, and lives of his 
fellow-citizens against the common enemy and frequent 
invaders of the state, that in August, 1863, he was 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 315 

elected, by an overwhelming majority of the voters of 
his state, as Lieutenant-Governor of Kentucky. 

In this new and highly honorable position, a door 
of great usefulness is wide open before Colonel Jacob. 
That all his acts, in his present office, will be charac- 
terized by the same honesty, patriotism, and courage 
that they were while he was in the tented field, and 
that he will take wise, comprehensive, and statesman- 
like views of the great issues that may arise, before 
the great conflict in which our country is now engaged 
may be ended, remains to be seen. 

In conclusion of all that we have to say on this sub- 
ject, and as a means of aiFording the readers of this 
book some just ideas of his character as a statesman, 
and his views of the great and exciting questions now 
before the American people, we subjoin the following 
addresses, the first of which was delivered on the occa- 
sion of the inauguration of Governor Bramlette, the 
other on the occasion when he took his seat as pre- 
siding officer of the Kentucky Senate. 

After Governor Bramlette had taken the oath of 
oflice. Governor Robinson presented the Lieutenant 
Governor elect, who spoke substantially as follows : 



316 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

" Fellow-citizens : This is neither the appropriate 
time nor place for me to address you ; and my re- 
marks, therefore, shall be of the briefest. I can not, 
however, help congratulating you on the different 
auspices under which we are now assembled from 
those of one year ago. Then the gallant Nelson, with 
his brave band of volunteers, gathered from the farms 
and workshops and quiet homes of this and neighbor- 
ing states, had been defeated by an overwhelming foe, 
and compelled to retire. I had the high pleasure, sub- 
sequently, to give my humble aid in driving that same 
foe from these very streets, amid the waving of flags 
and joyful countenances of the liberated Capital. One 
short year only has passed, and to-day we are assem- 
bled, under a cloudless sky and auspices, to celebrate 
a glorious but bloodless victory of the true loyal sons 
of Kentucky — a victory none the less glorious and in- 
spiring because won by the ballot-box instead of the 
bayonet. I have only to add that the place I am now 
to take was not of my seeking. I was absent from 
the state in my place of duty — the gallant army on 
the banks of the Cumberland, and amid the conflicts 
and labors in which that army has been engaged. 



MORGAN AND IIIS CAPTORS. 317 

This fact renders the compliment paid me by the peo- 
ple of my state all the more grateful as it was un- 
sought, unexpected. In the conclusion of these cere- 
monies, let us all renew our vows, and swear the old 
oath of the ever loyal Kentuckians, that the Federal 
Union must and shall be preserved, though it costs 
our last dollar." 

Governor Jacob then took the oath of office. Gov- 
ernor Bramlette was escorted to the Executive office, 
and placed in possession of the state seal and archives, 
and the assemblage dispersed amid salutes to the new 
Governor from the artillery on Arsenal Hill. 

Upon taking his seat as presiding officer of the 
Kentucky Senate, Lieutenant-Governor Jacob delivered 
the following address : 

" Senators : Elected by the people of Kentucky to 
the second position in the state, in accordance w^ith 
usage, I now propose briefly to address you on the 
Btate of the country. Kentucky has had an important 
part to play in the great civil tragedy which has been 
enacted upon the national theater for the last three 



318 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

years. Totally unprepared, at the commencement, for 
the great struggle which had been precipitated upon 
the nation, without a cause, by a band of bold, unprin- 
cipled, selfish, and disappointed leaders, she had to be 
wary in her movements. First, her patriotic heart 
wished no combat with either the men of the North or 
the South. She looked upon them equally as breth- 
ren, and convinced, if the struggle was once inau- 
gurated, of the terrible scenes that would be enacted, 
of the ocean of brothers' blood that would be shed, of 
the great cost, of the uncertain issue, and, standing 
naturally the great battle-gpound of contending fac- 
tions, if the nation w^as once disrupted, she preferred 
first to exhaust compromise. All of our sacred priv- 
ileges, the birth of our nation, the Constitution handed 
down to us by our fathers — all had been the work of 
conciliation. Why should we not avert a fratricidal 
and uncertain war by the same legitimate menus? 
We assumed mediation. Calm amidst the terrible 
storm of passion and fanaticism, Kentucky pleaded 
earnestly to try and stay the unnatural and unholy 
combat. She has been severely judged for that posi- 
tion ; yet she has the proud consciousness of knowing 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 319 

that if all had striven with the same pure and holy 
affection to avert the angry storm, and prevent the 
division of brethren, the band of audacious conspira- 
tors who were trying to inaugurate the struggle would 
have been baffled. This day there would have been 
peace, and our nation rushing on to unexampled pros- 
perity with the strides of a young giant. Alas ! alas ! 
her holy pleadings were scoffed at, the civil war v>-as 
inaugurated; a nation's sins were to be washed out by 
Mood pouring from the veins of her best and noblest. 
Mediation and neutrality, assumed from the love of 
country, became her shield and buckler. 

'' We also had desperate conspirators among us, w^ho 
were ceaseless in their efforts to precipitate Kentucky 
into the arms of the rebellion — reckless of the de- 
struction of the government of our fathers, recreant to 
the traditions of the Sage of Ashland, recusant to the 
pledge inscribed upon the pure marble taken from the 
bosom of her eternal hills, and placed in that monu- 
mental pile on the banks of the Potomac, erected in 
honor of the ' Father of his Country,' that ' Kentucky, 
the first-born of the Union, would be the last to leave 
it.' Shameless in their efforts to aid the bold and un- 



320 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

scrupulous Catilines of the South, and bring the terri- 
ble struggle, with all its desolaticQ and conflicts, upon 
her fair borders, and sweep her as with a besom of de- 
struction, they were stopped and baffled in their mad 
career by that shield. Under its aegis she armed and 
prepared for the terrible storm which she saw, sooner 
or later, would be precipitated upon her devoted head. 
Without that position she would have been given over, 
bound hand and foot, to the evil demon of the re- 
bellion. With that position, when the trial did come, 
she Avas ready for the conflict, and her sons rushed to 
the battle-field to defend the flag of Washington, the 
unity of the country, and the preservation of the Con- 
stitution. 

" Whose laurels are brighter upon the blood-stained 
fields of Mill Springs, Donelson, Shiloh, Stone River, 
and Chickamauga? Yet whose trials have been 
greater ? Her fair borders have been desolated, the 
firesides of her people desecrated ; father fighting 
against son, brother against brother, uncle against 
nephew; and, amidst the scorn and jeers of both ex- 
tremes, she still, with unparalleled devotion, has re- 
mained true and steadfast. With clear head, warm 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 321 

heart, and steady nerve, she looks forward with hopo 
to the time when the rebel armies will be broken down 
and crushed, knowing there can be no peace until then, 
and when the olive-branch can be substituted for the 
sword, and we can be a reconciled and united people 
onco more. Knowing no North, no South, no East, no 
West, she is contending for the equal privileges of all. 
With trenchant blade she fights the armed man of the 
South ; w^ith pleading tongue she implores the loyal 
man of the North to stay and rebuke, at the ballot- 
box, the equally fatal policy of the fanatic, who is 
equally an enemy to the government of our fathers. 

" She was too w^ise not to know that a blow struck 
at the National Government must necessarily be a 
blow, however purely the government might carry on 
the war, which ultimately must injure the institution 
of slavery, more or less. She so warned the conspira- 
tors, and declared that secessionism was practical abo- 
litionism. Though interested to a large extent in that 
species of property, all legitimate action against the 
rebellion, though it might result incidentally to the de- 
struction of slavery, she willingly acquiesced in. Yet 
we must not forget that all illegitimate action com- 



322 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

plained of since the comraencement of the rebellion 
could not have been taken if the flood-gates had not 
been opened by the total overthrow of the Constitution 
itself, and of the attempt yiolentlj to disrupt the gov- 
ernment of our fathers, made by that most infamous 
of traitors, Jeff. Davis, andf his co-rebellionists. 
Sworn to support the Constitution, he was secretly, 
while an officer in the War Department, and afterward 
while a Senator of the United States, using every en- 
ergy, in violation of his oath, to inaugurate civil war 
and destroy the Constitution. Educated at the ex- 
pense of the United States, he attempts to use that 
education for its destruction. Second only in infamy 
to Judas Iscariot, he, by building his batteries around, 
and opening fire upon, the devoted walls of Fort Sum- 
ter, and upon the glorious banner of Washington, in- 
augurates civil war, and brings destruction upon the 
South; and upon his head is justly due the ocean of 
blood, and all the wails, horrors, and miseries of a de- 
ceived people. Recreant to the great rights of the 
past, steeped in infamy, he cowardly inaugurates a 
civil war upon the pretense that slave property might 
be in danger, and forsakes the unity of the country 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 323 

and the Constitution bequeatlied to us by our Revolu- 
tionary sires, as a sacred inheritance, and, -vvhen 
pressed to the wall by a brave, heroic, and outraged 
people, he shrieks for protection to that Constitution 
he has violated, and to that God "whom he has outraged 
by his blasphemous perjuries. Without his cowardly 
defection and the recreancy of the Southern people to 
our most sacred rights, it would have been utterly out 
of the power of Northern fanatics to have committed 
unconstitutional acts. Therefore, Kentucky recog- 
nizes the rebellion as the Iliad of all our woes. While 
resisting these unjust, wrong, impolitic, and destructive 
powers by the free, use of speech, and an appeal to 
have them remedied by the conservative masses of the 
North at the ballot-box, she has undying hostihty to 
the rebellion, and is for the last man and last dollar to 
crush it. She well knows that if the rebellion suc- 
ceeds, not only will it be the destruction of slavery, 
but the destruction of our nationality, of all our dear- 
est rights, and the destruction of liberty itself, and the 
inauguration of eternal war, and the permanent inter- 
ference of the despotic powers of Europe with our 
ceaseless quarrels. No ; if Kentucky is forced by ter- 



824 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOHS. 

rible outrages to revolutionize, she is not going, in 
order to secure one riglit or many rights, to forsake 
others equally as dear. If she is forced into revolu- 
tion, she will unfurl the banner of Washington, and, 
appealing to the God of Battles and the American 
people, fight for every square inch of our common and 
glorious country, with all the sacred privileges that 
have been bequeathed to us by a noble ancestry. 

" The true powder of the conspirators was in de- 
ceiving the Southern people as to the intention and 
wishes of the Northern people in regard to their rights 
in slave property. The true policy of the government 
was, while striking with all the power of the Ameri- 
can people at those in arms, to appeal to the patriot- 
ism of the masses, and disclaim all intentions to inter- 
fere with any of their constitutional rights, but with the 
determination to maintain the integrity of the Union at 
all hazards. This was the policy of the iron-hearted 
but patriotic Jackson. It is the policy of loyal Ken- 
tucky. 

" Still, because we may differ with the Administra- 
tion in some of its measures, we must not permit the 
rebellion to be a success. We must not permit our 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 325 

glorious heritage to be impaired. The only way to 
crush the rebellion is by force of arms. We can have 
no peace until that is done. The Southern people 
themselves can not treat for peace until the despotic 
power of the rebel leaders and rebel army is broken. 
Until that is done, they are subjected to the despotism 
of those leaders and armies. The rebellion is a cure 
for no evil. It protects no rights. It destroys all, 
including our nationality, if successful. Then, the 
true policy of Kentucky is to give the last man and 
the last dollar, if necessary, to crush the rebellion — • 
at the same time appealing to the people of the loyal 
states to bring back the policy of the war to what we 
conceive a constitutional basis. 

" Kentucky, in the first place, favored mediation, in 
order to prevent war and bloodshed. Forced by the 
invasion of the Southern armies, unwillingly, to take 
up arms, and determined that nothing but a restora- 
tion of the supremacy of the laws should- satisfy her, 
yet equally abhorrent' to her is the abolition theory, 
that all state lines are abrogated, and states them- 
selves reduced to territorial dependence. Therefore, 
she is in favor of the whole power of the government 



326 MORaAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

to be energetically used to crush those in arms; yet 
she is in favor, not of an armistice, because that would 
give a breathing spell to those engaged in hostile com- 
bination for renewed preparation and renewed exertion 
at its discontinuance, but for an amnesty to all those 
who lay down their arms and return to their consti- 
tutional obedience, except the leaders of the rebellion, 
who should be punished at all hazards. The proper 
time to have inaugurated such a system would have 
been in July, that glorious month of victories. Such 
an attempt might prove futile : it might result in the 
greatest good. It can not possibly prove an evil. It 
would at least be gratifying to the milHons of the con- 
servative men of the loyal states. If the amnesty 
was rejected, it would nerve the arms of the loyal men 
to renewed exertion, until coercion would do the work 
of persuasion, and bring back those erring brethren, 
whether willing or not; because every true American 
will echo the sentiment, and resolve that the Federal 
Union must and shall be preserved, though it cost the 
blood of this generation. Can it be the American 
people have lost all virtue, and can not come together 
on terms of common equality, and restore their nation, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS, 327 

'^ith all of its constitutional obligations, and more than 
its pristine grandeur, as the home of freedom and the 
refuge of the oppressed millions of the Old World? 
Have not the sad lessons of the past proved that in 
unity is strength, and in division weakness? Would 
France, with all the audacity of her Emperor, have 
dared to strike down the liberties of the Mexican 
people and inaugurate a monarchy upon the ruins of 
its republican government, if it had not been for the 
division of the great Republic ? This unfortunate civil 
war has proved the immense resources of the Amer- 
ican people. United, we could withstand the world 
in arms. Disunited, we are the prey of crafty and 
designing nations. Then, all efforts to restore peace, 
with the Constitution as it is and the Union as it was, 
can not but be sacred. If conciliation will not do it, 
war must. As loyal Americans, worthy of ourselves 
and our ancestry and the glorious heritage bequeathed 
to us, let us interweave the olive-branch and all the 
mighty powers of the government, the bow of prom- 
ise with the terrible thunderbolt. Let us implore our 
errino; brethren to come back to the ties of American 
brotherhood and the Union — the ark of American lib- 



328 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

erty, the last and only refuge of freedom ; and, if that 
cry is not hearkened to, let us gather up all the re- 
sources of a mighty people and crush the last embers 
of the rebellion, and teach traitors that the American 
Union must and shall be preserved. 

" No one with the first instincts of a statesman 
would ever attempt to tear Kentucky from her safe 
moorings in the midst of a sisterhood of states, to 
place her as a frontier, subject, in all future time, to 
the ravages and horrors of desolating wars. In the 
center of a glorious constellation, all the combined 
forces of the world could scarcely have touched or 
reached her. As the fragment of a dissevered nation, 
she, naturally the dark and bloody land, the pathway 
of contending armies, would be devastated and ruined. 
So that this question of Union, however great and 
paramount to other states, is a question of life and 
death to her. The pretext for this war was danger 
to slave property. Not that it was in immediate dan- 
ger, but it might be so — giving a strange spectacle to 
the world of a mighty people attempting suicide, not 
for present evils, but for what might be in the womb 
of time ! Kentucky, governed by loyalty, pleaded in 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 329 

vain for peace, and counseled resistance only when 
"wrongs were attempted; and then, in fighting for one 
right, not to give up the flag of Washington and the 
Union of our fathers, but fight for all rights. Mad- 
men would not listen to her sage advice. They rushed 
to war with parricidal hands, attempting to tear down 
the work of our fathers. What has been the conse- 
quence ? The institution they rushed to an unholy 
war to protect from future consequences is on the 
verge of destruction. The only slave property that 
is at all safe is the property belonging to the loyal 
state of Kentucky. If she had not been loyal, her 
slave property, with all other kinds, would have been 
a thing of the past. Now, because, by the mad at- 
tempt of the South, the institution of slavery has been 
placed in danger, and which we predicted would be 
the consequence of the insane attempt to break up 
our nationality, the partisans of the infamous attempt 
to break up the government of our fathers roll up 
their eyes in holy horror, and ask us to place ourselves 
in exactly the same position. We have been loyal and 
true ; therefore our property is, comparatively speak- 
ing, safe. They have been disloyal, and their prop- 



330 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

erty is on the verge of ruin ; therefore, we must turn 
mad, be disloyal, and lose ours ! 

"But it is said the President will conscript the 
nogro slaves, and thereby destroy the institution of 
slavery in Kentucky. He has not done so yet, and 
sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. But, for 
argument's sake, suppose he does : who gave him the 
power but you zealots of the South, who, in your 
frenzy, attempted to destroy the temple of liberty and 
all the dear rights of the past ? If he does, will dis- 
loyalty to the Union save the institution ? Not at all. 
It would only hurl it to destruction with all other 
interests of the state. Loyalty to the Union, as in 
the past, is the only safety to ourselves, our property, 
and all the dear and sacred rights that we possess. 
If we resist, it must be in the Union and under the 
flag of Washington, with the millions of strong hearts 
and strong arms that we possess in the loyal North. 
Throw away these resources, as the South madly did, 
wo would be crushed as she will be, and as she would 
deserve to be, for being recreant to the great rights 
bequeathed to us by our fathers. No, no ! Come 
what may, come what will, let Kentucky be true. It 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 331 

is not only the path of honor, but the path of safety ; 
any other is the path of destruction. She is not fight- 
ing for the preservation of shivery, nor is she fighting 
for its destruction. Incidentally, if it goes down in 
maintaining the Union, well and good; incidentally, 
if it is saved in preserving the Union, well and good. 
What is slavery ? What is any species of property 
to her in comparison with the blood of her heroic 
children? Yet she has freely offered up their hves 
without a murmur. She will do so still. All she asks, 
lot these enormous sacrifices be, not in defiance of 
the Constitution, but incidentally for a prosecution of 
a war for the maintenance of the Union and the Con- 
stitution ; and when these blessings are secured, the 
war should and ought to cease. In Mr. Seward's 
language : ^ We are under obligations to save not only 
the unity or the integrity of the country, but also its 
inestimable and precious Constitution.' 

" Senators ! in regard to the pleasant, distinguished, 
but untried duty which devolves upon me of presiding 
over your august body, I expect my task to be light 
from your well-known courtesy. I expect to be im- 
partial. What errors I commit will be of the head, 
28 



332 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

I trust, and not of the heart ; and these, I feel, mW 
be kmdly criticised. In conclusion, may the God of 
our fathers, who carried the destiny of this nation 
safely through the terrible conflicts of the Revolution 
which separated us from the mother country, still pre- 
side over and protect us in this still more fiery trial, 
and let us issue from its gigantic contest very soon 
as one people — one in interest, one in heart, purified 
by the fiery contest, to be restored under one flag and 
one Constitution — and that the flag and Constitution 
of Washington; and may they be handed down un- 
impaired to the latest generation ! " 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 333 



CHAPTER XI 



MA JOE a. W. RUE, THE CAPTOR OF MORGAN — HIS REPORT TO COLONEL LEWIS RFCn- 
MONU — PARTICULARS OF THE CAPTURE — INTERVIEW BETWEEN MORGAN AND 
RUE— INTERVIEW BETWEEN MORGAN, SHACKELFORD, AND WOLFORD — A GOOD 
PROVIDENCE — MAJOR RUE'S NATIVITY — HIS EDUCATION AND MILITARY CHARAC- 
TER — RUE IN MEXICO — RUE A CHRISTIAN. 



BUT for the most untiring and almost superlmman 
efforts of those brave men, Generals Judah, 
Hobson, and Shackelford, and the heroic forces they 
led, Morgan Tfould not have been captured, and his 
command destroyed. There was not an officer or 
private, so far as is known, who did not do his 
duty manfully and act well his part, in the pur- 
suit of the "great raider;" yet, it is but just to say 
that special credit should be given to Major George 
"W. EuE, of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, who was 
the actual captor of Morgan. 

The account of this interesting event we prefer 
giving to the reader in Major Rue's own language. 
In his report to Colonel Lewis Richmond, A. A. G. 



384 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

of General Burnside, and dated at Cincinnati, Oliio, 
July 29, 1863, he says : 

" Colonel : I have the honor to make the follow- 
ing report : 

" On the evening of the 23d instant, by your order, 
I left the barracks at Covington, Kentucky, at seven 
o'clock P. M., with a command of three hundred and 
seventy-five cavalry, being detachments from different 
regiments, as follows: One hundred and twenty from 
the Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, under Major Gra- 
ham ; seventy-five from the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry ; 
fifty from the Eighth Michigan Cavalry ; also, small 
detachments from the First and Twelfth Kentucky 
Cavalry, and a number of men from various regi- 
ments ; also, three pieces of artillery from the Fif- 
teenth Indiana Battery, under command of Lieuten- 
ant Tarr. 

" The com.mand left the Little Miami Railroad depot 
at Cincinnati, at ten o'clock P. M., for Bellair, via 
Columbus. The train, losing no time, arrived at that 
point at one o'clock P. M., on Friday, the 24th instant. 
I disembarked the men and horses, and encamped at 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 335 

Bellair for tlie remainder of the night. On the fol- 
lo^Ying day we patrolled both up and down the banks 
of the Ohio River for a considerable distance. 

"At one o'clock P. M. of that day I was notified 
by Major-General Brooks to place my forces upon 
the cars, and proceed, with the greatest possible haste, 
to Steubenville. However, I did not stop at that point, 
but passed on to Shanghae, where I again disembarked 
my command, at seven o'clock P. M., Saturday. From 
thence I proceeded, along the public road, westwardly, 
five miles, to the town of Knoxville, at w^hich place I 
arrived at twelve o'clock in the night. Here I learned 
that Morgan had already passed through Richmond, 
west of Knoxville, at four o'clock P. M. of that day, 
the 25th instant, and was moving in a north-east 
direction. 

"I left Knoxville at four o'clock A. M. on Sun- 
day morning, going northwardly, and joined General 
Shackelford at eight o'clock A. M., at Hammonds- 
ville. From thence w^e proceeded to Salinesville, my 
command taking the advance. At the latter place 
we learned that Morgan had been seen last at Moore- 
ville, going eastwardly, on the Beaver Creek road, 



33G MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

toward Smith's Ford, on the Ohio River. I was sent, 
Hth the advance, by General Shackelford, to inter- 
cept Morgan, if that was possible, at some point on 
the above-named road. I started forward, at the rate 
of seven miles per hour, with my command, w^hich 
was then reduced to three hundred men, by detach- 
ments going off to their respective regiments. 

*' On coming within half a mile of the junction of the 
Beaver Creek road, I was surprised to learn that Mor- 
gan was passing the intersection of the roads, on a 
gallop. I then considered the chance of getting up 
with him rather desperate. I learned, however, from 
citizens, that a private road led off to the right of the 
road on which we were moving, and intersected the 
Beaver Creek road at a distance of something over a 
mile, wdiile Morgan would have to pass two miles on 
the main road to reach the same point. As Morgan 
had half a mile the start of us, we had about equal 
chances to reach the desired spot at the same time. 
By throwing dow^n some fences the road was prac- 
ticable for our purpose, although very rough. I or- 
dered my command to move forward on double-quick, 
and the order was carried out vigorously, and we 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 337 

moved at the greatest possible speed. 1 took the 
advance, accompanied by Captain Pond and Adjutant 
Pierce, with about twenty privates from Company A, 
Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry. We dashed forward, 
over the rough, hilly road, and reached the Beaver 
Creek road about one hundred and fifty yards in ad- 
vance of the rebels. I formed my men in a line 
across the road. Major Graham rapidly closed up 
the column, threw down the intervening fences, and 
a line of battle was soon formed and ready for ac- 
tion on the enemy's front and flank. I had previ- 
ously ordered Lieutenant Burton, of the Eleventh 
Kentucky Cavalry, with thirty men, to annoy the rear 
of the enemy, by following him on the main road, 
and for the further purpose of preventing him from 
retreating that way. The enemy was thus com- 
pletely surrounded. Morgan promptly dispatched a 
flag of truce, which met me in the advance, with the 
demand that I should surrender my force to him. 
I told the bearer of the flag to return at once to his 
commander, and notify him that I demanded the in- 
stant and unconditional surrender of his entire force, 
or else I would forthwith open fire upon them. The 



338 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

rebel bearinar the flao; of truce left with tbis demand, 
and in a few minutes Major Steel, of the Confederate 
cavalry, was brought to me by Captain Neil, of the 
Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, who informed me that Mor- 
gan had already surrendered to my command. 

" I then rode forward to Morgan, and notified him 
that matters must remain as they were until General 
Shackelford arrived. It was soon after this that some 
one present said that the surrender of Morgan had 
been made to a Captain Burbick, and that Morgan 
claimed to have been paroled, by a special under- 
standing with that ofl&cer. Morgan simply stated the 
fact that he had surrendered, but did not say any 
thing about terms or to whom he considered the sur- 
render made. Major Steel having made the surrender. 
I was then informed that Captain Burbick — or Beck- 
ith — w^as a militia officer and a prisoner in the hands 
of Morgan at the time the pretended surrender and 
parole were said to have been made. I was informed 
that the surrender and parole took place at the iden- 
tical time when Morgan found himself intercepted by 
my command, and while he was hurrying Captain 
Burbick, unarmed, along the road as a prisoner of 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 339 

war. I tliereforc treated tliid claim as abrfiird, and 
held tliC5 prisoners until General Shackelford came 
up, which was about an hour after the capture of 
Morgan, when I placed all at his disposal. 

*' The number of rebels captured was three hun- 
dred and eighty-four men, rank and file, and about 
four hundred horses. The arms and horses I turned 
over to Major-General Brooks, of Wellsville. 

"I take great pleasure in reporting that my entire 
command acted with the greatest promptness and 
alacrity. Major Graham, Lieutenant Boynton, and 
the other gallant officers and men who composed my 
command, for the time being, are worthy of all the 
praise that can be bestowed upon them. I would es- 
pecially return my thanks to Captain Pond, Adju- 
tant Pierce, and the twenty private soldiers of the 
advance-guard, who, by their boldness, merited the 
position to which they were assigned. Lieutenant 
Tarr, also, deserves praise for the energetic efforts 
he made to forward his artillery during the various 
changes of the command, until he was placed in the 

rear at Adamsville. 

" Geo. W. Rue, 

"Major Niiitli Kentucky Cavalry." 
29 



340 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

When Morgan was captured, he was in Columbiana 
County, on the line between Wayne and Madison 
Townships, and on the road between the farms of 
John Crawford and David Burbick, and about nine 
miles from the Pennsylvania line. 

Major Rue states that his interview with Morgan, 
after his capture, was pleasant. Among other things, 
Morgan said to Rue : 

" You have beat me, and I give up the chase." 

Rue introduced General Shackelford and Colonel 
Wolford to Morgan, when they came up. The inter- 
view was quite amusing to the spectators. Wolford's 
countenance indicated great joy on beholding Mor- 
gan as a prisoner. 

"I am glad to see you on this occasion," said he 
to Morgan. 

"You and the Colonel have met before?" said Gen- 
eral Shackelford. 

A laugh followed this last remark. Wolford was 
once Morgan's prisoner. 

"Not as friends," said Morgan; at the same time 
he was shaking hands with Shackelford and Wolford. 

It will be seen, from what has just been said, that 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 341 

it was a good Providence that put Major Rue in the 
front. He had fresh men and horses, true courage, 
and great anxiety to capture Morgan. Besides, he 
had confronted him in ahnost every raid he had made 
in Kentucky, and was perfectly familiar with all his 
foxy devices. He was the man for the occasion. 
His military career has been short, but was of such 
a character that it will not soon be forgotten. 

Major Rue was born at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 
June 8, 1828. His education was limited to the or- 
dinary branches of English, taught in the common 
schools of his native state. He always had a strong 
desire for a military life, and a love for that profes- 
sion. He became a good tactician with but little 
effort on his part. 

AYhen he was eighteen years of age he volunteered 
as a private, and w^ent with our army into Mexico, 
where he first made the acquaintance of Morgan, and 
probably knows as much of his character as any man 
in the service of the government. 

Rue returned from Mexico with very poor health, 
and spent most of his time farming, until he felt that 
our country and her great and free institutions were 



342 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

in peril, when he raised a battalion, and joined the 
Ninth Kentucky Regiment of Cavalry. Since that 
time he has made for himself a record of which he 
need not be ashamed, and of which his country is 
proud. 

Major Rue is a Christian man, and a member of 
the Presbyterian Church. Such men enter the serv- 
ice of their country from deep convictions of duty, 
and, like Oliver Cromwell, they fear not the face of 
any foe, because their trust is in the God of battles. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 343 



CHAPTER XII. 



morgan's late EAID into KENTUCKY, IN JUNE, 18G4 — ENTERS THE STATE At 
POUND GAP — CAPTURE OF MOUNT STERLING — UPRISING OF GUERRILLAS AND 
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE— THEIR DEPREDATIONS AT VARIOUS PLACES- 
GOVERNOR BRAMLETTE AND THE SIEGE OF FRANKFORT — GENERAL BURBRIDGE 
DEFEATS MORGAN AT MOUNT STERLING— MORGAN AT LEXINGTON— MARCHES 
TOWARD FRANKFORT, BUT SUDDENLY CHANGES HIS COURSE— AT CYNTHIANA 
DEFEATS AND CAPTURES THE UNION FORCES — IS DEFEATED BY BURBRIDGE 
THE DAY FOLLOWING — DISPATCHES OF GENERAL BURBRIDGE TO THE PRESI- 
DENT AND SECRETARY OF WAR— DISTINGUISHED REGIMENTS— DETAILED STATK- 
MEXTS — INCIDENTS. 



"PlURING the first week of June, 1864, General 
-L/ Morgan entered Kentucky, by way of Pound 
Gap, at the head of a body of guerrillas, numbering 
between twenty-five hundred and three thousand men, 
and marched rapidly toward Central Kentucky. 

This is the first raid that the famous guerrilla chief- 
tain has made into the state since the one of which 
an account has just been given, and it has proved 
little less disastrous to him than that of the precedmg 
year. 

There can be no doubt but that it Avas generally 
well understQod that Morgan was to make a raid, at 



344 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

tlie time that he did, by rebel sympathizers and the 
Knights of the Golden Circle throughout Central Ken- 
tucky; and it can not be denied that the plan was 
well laid, and more "foxy" than any previous one, 
and was well calculated to deceive our mihtary au- 
thorities in the state. 

On the 8th of June, Morgan captured the town of 
Mount Sterling. At the same time, and in various 
localities, guerrillas and squads of armed citizens ap- 
peared, and commenced the work of aiding the raid- 
ers, by cutting our communications, and in various 
other ways. 

The steamboat Wren was fired into at Lockport, on 
the Kentucky River. No serious damage was done; 
but the boat was compelled to return to Madison. At 
the same time a body of forty guerrillas, under com- 
mand of a man named Jenkins, formerly of Henry 
County, cut the telegraph-wires at Pleasureville Sta- 
tion, on the Louisville and Lexington Railroad. On 
the evening of the same day, Thursday, the 9th in- 
stant, the same band fired into the ordnance train, 
and made a fierce attack on it as soon as it came in 
sight. The train-guard replied to the fire, and a hvely 



MORGAN AND HIS CArXORS. 845 

fight followed. The engine was quickly reversed, and 
the train moved rapidly back. The rebels followed 
the backing train over half a mile, firing into it, and 
receiving a response from the guard. Many obstruc- 
tions were found placed upon the track between 
Christianburg and Pleasureville, the design being to 
capture the train. The citizens say that they were 
forced by the rebels to put obstructions on the 
road. The train arrived safely at Bagdad, and at- 
tempted to proceed from Bagdad to Frankfort, but 
an open culvert was found destroyed a short dis- 
tance from North Benson, which prevented it from 
proceeding further. The first bridge below North 
Benson was destroyed, and here our troops had a 
severe skirmish with the rebels, and repulsed them. 

Mr. J. Press. Sparks, a Union member of the Ken- 
tucky Legislature, from Henry County, was killed by 
Jenkins after the escape of the train. 

Frankfort, the Capital of the state, was attacked, 
and a siege commenced by a small part of Morgan's 
command, probably aided by home traitors. Governor 
Bramlette pressed into service many of the citizens 
of Frankfort, who, together with the few troops in the 



346 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

forts, repulsed the enemy. They held Frankfort se- 
curely, and in due time were relieved by the arrival 
of the Forty-third Regiment of Indiana Volunteers. 
Great credit is due Governor Morton and General 
Carrington, of Indiana, for the prompt assistance sent 
tc Frankfort, and especially should great praise be 
given to the Forty -third Indiana Regiment. 

Governor Bramlette thus handsomely acknowledged 
his indebtedness to that gallant body of men and the 
Governor of Indiana : 

"Commonwealth of Kentucet, 

" Executive Department, 
" Frankfort, June 22, 1864. 

" Governor 0. P. Morton^ Indianapolis^ Indiana : 

" Dear Sir — I return you my most grateful thanks 
for your prompt assistance during Morgan's recent 
raid. The timely arrival of the Forty -third Regiment 
Indiana Volunteers gave us entire relief against all 
apprehension of danger. Although the citizens had 
repulsed the rebels, yet the large numbers still infest- 
ing this section, at the time of their arrival, kept us 
upon constant vigil, and serious apprehension of an- 
other assault. The patriotism and kindly feeling which 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 347 

prompted the gallant veterans of the Forty-third to 
rush to our relief without delaying, after their long 
and arduous labors, to even greet their families, de- 
serves the highest commendation from their country- 
men, and will ever command from us of Kentucky the 
profoundest gratitude of our hearts. 

^' The appearance of Yallandigham in Ohio, simul- 
taneously with Morgan's raid in Kentucky, fully con- 
firms the matters made known to me, through General 
Lindsey, by you. The defeat of Morgan has frus- 
trated their movements for the present ; but vigilance 
in the future must still guard us against those mach- 
inations of evil-doers. 

"Yours, truly, Tiios. E. Bramlettb." 

The main body of Morgan's men w^as at Mount 
Sterling. In the mean time squads were sent from 
his head-quarters in every direction, who scoured the 
country, gathered up horses, and whatever could be 
used to advantage by them. 

The first intimation the people of Cynthiana had of 
a rebel force near them was on the morning of the 8th 
instant. That morning messengers came in from scv- 



S48 MORGAN AND IIIS CAPTORS. 

era! points, saying that there were three hundred 
rebels at Owensville, six hundred at Mount Sterling, 
and thirty at Talbot's Station, three miles north of 
Paris. At ten o'clock the train arrived from Coving- 
ton, and the conductor was warned not to proceed any 
further. He immediately detached the locomotive, and 
started up the road on a reconnoissance, preceded by 
a hand-car. They proceeded to within a short dis- 
tance of Townsend's Bridge, seven miles south of Cyn- 
thiana, when they saw the smoke and flames ascending 
from the burning of that structure, which, with the 
trestle-work, is about three hundred feet long. A 
man was sent out to make discoveries, and soon met 
several Union soldiers, who had been guarding the 
bridge. They stated that they had been taken pris- 
oners by a body of about two hundred rebel troops, 
who, after paroling them, set fire to the bridge, and 
then started in the direction of Cynthiana. 

The hand-car and locomotive immediately returned 
to Cynthiana, and, after taking on board a number of 
citizens, and the funds of the bank, returned toward 
Covington at twelve o'clock. 

At half-past two o'clock the raiders charged upon 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 349 

the town of Cynthiana. First, five rebel cavalrymeu 
dashed through the streets, at a furious rate, yelling 
and firing their pistols. In twenty minutes after- 
w^ard, fifty more followed in the same manner ; and, 
shortly, twenty or thirty more made their appear- 
ance. They that passed through soon returned, 
and remained there about three hours, and then 
left in the direction of Paris — not, however, until 
they had freely helped themselves to whatever 
clothing and shoes they needed, from the stores of 
a Mr. Delling and a Mr. Magee, and had ab- 
stracted, from letters in the post-office, twenty or 
thirty dollars. 

Fifteen of this band were detailed to burn Kellar's 
Bridge, a mile and a half north of Cynthiana, where 
a guard of ten, of the Forty-seventh Kentucky Regi- 
ment, surrendered, and were paroled. It has been 
thought that they could have held their stockades 
against a much larger force than that to which they 
surrendered. 

It is said that many among the citizens of Cynthiana 
rejoiced, and openly shouted, when this rebel band en- 
tered their town. 



350 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Thus squads of Morgan's men, Knights of the 
Golden Circle, and rebel citizens, appeared simul- 
taneously at various points, and did great mischief, in 
destroying railroads, bridges, and in plundering Union 
and loyal citizens. 

However well all these operations were calculated to 
deceive our military authorities, they failed utterly to 
deceive General Burbridge, who seemed fully to com- 
prehend the situation. 

It has been said that Morgan captured Mount Ster- 
ling on Wednesday, the 8th instant. His main forces 
were concentrated at that point. There, on the 9th, 
the day follow^ing the occupation. General Burbridge 
fell upon Morgan's band, and, after a fierce fight, com- 
pletely repulsed the enemy. 

After the defeat at Mount Sterling, Morgan marched 
to Lexington, Kentucky, and entered that city about 
two o'clock on the morning of the 10th instant. Here 
lie burned the Kentucky Central Railroad depot, and 
freely appropriated, from the stores of Union men; 
whatever he or his men needed. It is said, also, that 
a demand w^as made for specie on one of the banks 
of that city, and that the cashier was compelled to 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 351 

honor his check, to the amount of seven thousand 
dollars. 

When Morgan entered Lexmgton, the Union forces 
retired into Fort Clay, which was garrisoned, in part, 
by the First Ohio Heavy Artillery. Soldiers from the 
fort skirmished, during the night, with Morgan's men, 
and, as soon as day dawned, the artillery commenced 
shelling them ; but General Burbridge was close on 
the heels of Morgan, and he, therefore, left Lexington 
about ten o'clock of the same day, and proceeded 
toward Georgetown and Frankfort. 

Near the former place it is supposed that he divided 
his forces, and sent a small part of them toward 
Frankfort, evidently with the intention of deceiving 
General Burbridge, and leading him to Frankfort, 
while he, with his main column, moved north, for the 
purpose of capturing Cynthiana and our forces at that 
point, and then, after gathering his plunder, make his 
escape out of the state over the same track by which 
he came into it. 

Morgan marched directly to Cynthiana, and there 
defeated and captured our forces, under command of 
General Ilobson, on Saturday, the 11th instant. He 



852 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

also captured General Hobson, who had so frequently 
defeated his plans in other raids, and who was a leader 
of the expedition that captured Morgan, the previous 
year, in his great raid through Indiana and Ohio. On 
this occasion a large part of Cynthiana was burned by 
the rebels. 

On the following day (Sunday, the 12th of June), 
General Burbridge fell upon Morgan's forces, at Cyn- 
thiana, while they were at breakfast, and, after killing, 
wounding, and literally driving into the river many, 
who were drowned, completely defeated, routed, and 
sent Morgan, and his broken, shattered, and com- 
pletely defeated troopers, out of the state, in far 
greater haste than he entered it. 

The following account of this affair was dispatched 
to Secretary Stanton, by General Burbridge : 

" I attacked Morgan at Cynthiana, at daylight yesterday 
morning, and, after an hour's hard fighting, completely routed 
him, killing three hundred, wounding nearly as many, and 
capturing nearly four hundred, besides recapturing nearly one 
hundred of Hobson's command, and over one thousand horses. 
Our loss in killed and wounded is about one hundred and fifty. 
Morgan's scattered forces are flying in all directions, have 
thrown away their arms, are out of ammunition, and are 
wliollv demoralized." 



MORGAN AXD HIS CAPTORS. 353 

The following replies to the above dispatch will 
show in w^hat estimation General Burbridge and hia 
bra\e soldiers are held by the President, the War De- 
partment, and, in fact, by the loyal people of the 
country, and how their operations against Morgan are 
regarded : 

" Washington, June 14, 1864. 
" To General Burbridge: 

" Have just received your dispatch of action at Cynthiana. 
Please accept my congratulations and thanks for yourself and 
command. 

(Signed) "A. Lincoln." 



" Washington, June 14, 1864. 

' To General Burbridge : 

"Please accept for yourself and the officers and soldiers of 
your gallant command, the thanks of this Department, for the 
brave and successful operations of the last six days in Ken- 
tucky — achievements of valor, energy, and success that will be 
regarded with admiration by all loyal people of the United 
States. 

(Signed) " E. M. Stanton." 



We have spoken of the great credit due to the 
Forty-third Indiana Regiment. Equal credit should 
be given, also, to the First and Second Kentucky and 
the Ninth and Tenth Ohio Regiments, which were en- 



354 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

gaged in the operations against Morgan, during thia 
last raid. All honor to the brave officers and men of 
these regiments ! 

After giving the foregoing brief and general history 
of the raid, we refer the reader to the following com- 
munications, for many very interesting details and 
statements : 

" Lexington, Kentucky, July 12, 1864. 

" As I have not seen any communication in your 
paper from any of the soldiers of the Twelfth Ohio 
Volunteer Cavalry, in regard to the late Morgan raid 
into Kentucky, I therefore send you a few sketches of 
the principal parts we have taken in the raid, for pub- 
lication. 

" On the 23d day of May we left Mount Sterling, 
in company with the Fortieth and Forty-fifth Ken- 
tucky Mounted Infantry Regiments, and Third Ken- 
tucky Battery. The object or purport of the march 
was that we were going to Abingdon, Virginia, to de- 
stroy railroads, salt-works, and so on. Whether this 
was really the object, or whether we were going to 
Pound Gap, to endeavor to prevent Morgan and his 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTOKS. 355 

gang of horse-tliieves and robbers from coming into 
the state, the deponent saith not. 

" We marched all day over a miserably rocky road, 
and at night camped at Mud Lick Springs, a cele- 
brated watering-place, where we were joined by two 
other Kentucky regiments, which made us quite a 
formidable army. 

'^ After five days' marching over rough, rocky roads, 
and through rain and mud, we reached a camp on 
Sandy River, about eight miles above Prestonburg, 
where we vrere joined by the Eleventh Michigan Cav- 
alry, two mountain howitzers, and some two or three 
other Kentucky mounted infantry regiments. In this 
camp we found that forage and rations had not been 
provided sufficient for the journey we were about to 
make ; therefore our regiment, with the Thirty-seventh, 
Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Kentucky, and Eleventh 
Michigan Regiments, were ordered to Louisa (about 
forty-five miles distant) for more rations and forage. 

" On Sunday, June 5, we took up our line of march 

for the Gap, which we expected to make in two days ; 

but, to our surprise, on the morning of the second day, 

after we had all got on the road and on the march, orders 
30 



856 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

came to the front to turn about, which we reluctantly 
did. However, we soon learned the cause, which wa3 
that Morgan, with his gang, had come through the 
Gap three days before, and was making direct for 
Mount Sterling. After another hard march, with rain, 
mud, and darkness to contend with, we camped, at 
twelve o'clock that night, on the river just below Pres- 
tonburg. 

" At four o'clock the next morning we started with 
the intention of intercepting some of Morgan's men on 
the road as they were coming into the state, but we 
did not reach this road until the forenoon of the next 
day, when we learned that Morgan had passed the day 
before with his cavalry, and that his infantry had been 
passing in the afternoon and night. Our best inform- 
ants supposed that he had fifteen hundred cavalry and 
eight hundred infantry. Here and then commenced 
what we term the race after Morgan and his horse- 
thieves, robbers, and murderers. 

" We were by this time becoming .fatigued, as well 
as our horses, for the want of sleep and rest ; but the 
prospect of a fight appeared to put new life into the 
boys, and our horses apparently wakened up. Double- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 357 

quick now was the word. We marched all day and 
night. 

" When arriving within six miles of Mount Sterling, 
at three o'clock in the morning, the column halted. 
The men and horses were lio'htened of their extra baa-- 

o o 

gage — such as corn-sacks, haversacks, canteens, blank- 
ets, nose-bags, currv-combs brushes, etc. — prepara- 
tory to going into the fight. Carbines and pistols 
were all loaded and examined, and, after the arrange- 
ment of the regiments in their places in the brigades 
by General Burbridge, the order came, ' Forward ! 
march 1 ' Away we went ; the clatter of the horses' 
feet and the rumbling sound of the artillery appeared 
to make noise enough to wake up the whole Southern 
Confederacy. 

" We charged into their camp, on the south side of 
the town, the Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry taking 
the lead, and firing their carbines and pistols as 
they passed through. Two battalions halted in front 
of the enemy's camp, while the artillery was brought 
forward and run up into the rebel camp, when the 
horses were shot down, the men driven off, and the 
guns taken possession of by the rebels. 



358 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

" Immediately one of our commanders, at the top of 
his voice, offered three thousand dollars for the recap- 
ture of the ' gun,' when the boys of the Twelfth Ohio 
nobly responded by recapturing the gun, in a hand-to- 
hand fight, before the enemy had time to load it. 

" At the same time our infantry formed a line on the 
south side of the rebel camp, and, in connection with 
the Eleventh Michigan and two battalions of the 
Twelfth Ohio Cavalry on the east, poured a destructive 
fire into their ranks, which caused their line to waver 
and fall back in great disorder, our forces pursuing 
them into the woods, killing and wounding a great 
number. 

"While this battle was taking place on the south 
side of the town, one battalion of the Twelfth Ohio and 
two Kentucky regiments had passed through the town 
and attacked the rebels on the east side, where they 
were driven from our old camp, across the field, and 
out of sight. Our horses were so exhausted that we 
could not pursue them. 

" Here, when our regiment was driving the rebels 
over the hills, instantly a mounted rebel Lieutenant, 
who had been trying to hide himself, commenced re- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 359 

treating for safer grounds, passing along in front of 
our line. Major Herrick, Captain Gage, and some two 
or three others, gave him chase. It was an interest- 
ing race. They all soon passed over the brow of the 
hill, and the Lieutenant was captured — the Major and 
Captain both claiming the distinguished honor of 
taking the prisoner. 

" In about two hours afterward the enemy reap- 
peared in front of the first battle-ground, south of the 
town, in line of battle, and opened a desperate fire 
on a few scattered men, who were looking after tho 
dead, w^hen a courier arrived in town, calling for re- 
inforcements, which were immediately sent out to their 
assistance, and the action was renewed. 

" The rebels were defeated here the second time, and 
driven oif the field, with considerable loss, and pursued 
about two miles. 

" They again, after being reinforced by about four 
hundred of their men, who had been at Winchester, at- 
tacked the town on the west side with great fur}^ 
causing the inhabitants to think their cellars were tho 
only safe places left for them. 

" Our men, being dismounted, and posted along the 



360 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

garden-fences and in the road, the firing was kept up 
here in bushwhacking style, each man behind a post or 
shelter of some kind, while the rebels were creeping up 
in the grass, and along the fences, until they came 
within pistol-shot range, when they, finding our fire too 
hot for them, and our men flanking them on both 
sides, and too cowardly to come up boldly and charge 
our line, broke and ran, in the wildest confusion, from 
the field, leaving a number of dead and dying upon the 
field and along the garden-fences. 

" We lost about a dozen men in this last fight. 

" While our men were in the road, the enemy poured 
a raking fire into our ranks, which caused us to seek 
shelter, the same as they were doing. Here, in the 
road, is where the brave young Higgenbottom fell, mor- 
tally wounded. He was Commissary Sergeant of our 
company, and had never been in battle before ; but he 
knew no fear, and, like a good many others on that 
memorable day, laid down his life for his country and 
for the American Union. 

" The commanding officers and privates of the 
Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry have the praise of 
defending the town, and driving ofi" the rebel hordes. 



MORttAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 361 

The officers stood side by side Avith their men, and 
used the carbine with the same skill and precision. 
Morgan's men acknowledge we could fire five times to 
thcii' once ; and the prisoners say the Yankees wind 
up their guns at night, and shoot all day. 

" They retreated in the direction of Lexingtou- 
taking with them about one .hundred and fifty of 
our men as prisoners, whom they had captured the 
day before, and who fought until they were over- 
powered before surrendering. It is said that they 
held the rebels at bay for over an hour, and that it 
took very near all of Morgan's force to compel them 
to surrender, and, when taken, Morgan's men inquired 
where the balance of the regiment was. The men re- 
plied that they w^ould find out in a day or two. They 
said they thought, frojn the way our men were firing, 
that the whole regiment was there. 

" Our horses being now tired out, we were obhged 
to lie still until morning, and rest. 

" By daylight next morning we were up again, and 
after Morgan, as fast as our horses could take us. 
"We reached Lexington about three o'clock P. M., and 
found that the rebels had gone toward Georgetown; 



362 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Lexington, at that time, not being a very comfortaMe 
place for them, as Fort Clay was trying to get some 
of the rust out of her guns, by firing shot and shell 
all over the country, and through the streets of the 
city. 

'' We waited there until midnight, getting fresh 
horses ; then we star.ted for Paris, which place we 
reached next morning. Here we were disappointed in 
not finding the rebels. 

^' After resting here until after dark, and gathering 
news of Morgan's whereabouts, we started again, and 
made for Cynthiana, at which place we arrived a little 
after daylight, and found the enemy encamped on the 
east side of the town. 

'' General Burb ridge immediately had us formed in 
line of battle, and sent word along the hne that he 
would personally conduct the fight, which had a tend- 
ency to inspire the boys with more than common 
vigor, and make them anxious to wade into the 
rebels. 

^' Our line of battle consisted of the Seventeenth 
Michigan Cavalry, on the extreme right, next the gal- 
lant Ninth Michigan Cavalry ; fronting the town, and 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 863 

in tlie center, was placed our regiment (T^Yelfth Ohio 
Volunteer Cavalry) ; on our left were the Kentucky 
infantry regiments; and on our extreme left was the 
fighting Seventh Ohio Cavalry. 

^' Our line, as soon as formed, commenced moving 
upon the enemy, and each regiment had its own work 
and field to work in. We tore, down all the fences in 
that neighborhood; and here is where the Twelfth 
Ohio Volunteer Cavalry made one of the finest ' saber 
charges ' of the campaign, and drove the rebels in and 
through the town, capturing a great many, and causing 
them to retreat so fast that the bridge became jammed, 
and they, in their hurry to escape, jumped into the 
river, where they found the water too deep, and a 
considerable number drowned before reaching the op- 
posite shore. 

^'We captured here, besides prisoners, about one 
thousand horses, which the enemy, in their haste to 
get away, had left behind. 

" It is said of Morgan, that, when attacked in the 
morning, he sent out one of his Aids to ascertain who 
and what forces were fighting him. When the Aid re- 
turned and informed him that it was the Twelfth Ohio 
31 



S64: MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Cavalry, lie immediately rejDlied, ' Boys, we had better 
be getting out of this.' Morgan had seen and heard 
of the Twelfth at Mount Sterling, and he had a whole- 
some fear of that regiment. 

" Morgan's gang was here scattered in almost every 
direction. We followed them about five miles, but could 
not overtake any large body of them at a time. Our 
regiment returned to Cynthiana, and rested a couple 
of hours, and then went to Carlisle ; but, not hearing 
of the enemy there, we were sent south on the Ken- 
tucky River, above Irvine — I suppose, with the inten- 
tion of cutting off the retreat of Morgan's men. 
Their main body got past us, and a part of our regi- 
ment followed them to within twelve miles of Mulberry 
Gap, when the chase was given up, and we returned 
here to Lexington to recruit our strength and receive 
fresh horses. 

" The boys are now in general good health, and are 
anxious to meet the rebels again, whenever they wish 
to invade Kentucky; and, as long as we have a load 
in our carbines and pistols to fire, and a strong arm to 
raise our sabers, w^e intend to stand our ground and 
fight, as we did not come into Kentucky to surrender 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 365 

or run from rebels, and, whenever they want to try our 
mettle, let them pitch in. 

" Yours, respectfully, 

" Samuel Beuner, 

"Corporal Co. L, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry." 



"Boyd's Station, Kentucky, June 12. 
" Since my last dispatch I have seen the elephant, 
and a much larger one than I bargained for. To 
begin with, was the sharp fight on Saturday morn- 
ing, before breakfast, near Cynthiana, in which Com- 
panies A, D, E, F, and Gr, of the One Hundi^ed and 
Sixty-eighth Ohio, or most of them, sustained the 
shock of three thousand men under John Morgan. 
Not knowing their numbers. Colonel Garis, assisted 
by Colonel Berry, Provost Marshal, and his own Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel (Barrere), continued the contest only 
too bravely. Outnumbered and overpowered, they fell 
back, firing all the time, to the depot buildings, where 
Colonel Berry fell almost mortally wounded in the 
head, and thence to Rankin's unfinished hotel, where, 
after surrendering and coming out of the house. Colo- 
nel Garis was shot through the right shoulder to the 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

elbow, and others retreated to the Court-house. The 
consequence was, the rebels poured into the town and 
charged into these several places, causing the utmost 
consternation among the inhabitants. Colonel Garis 
not surrendering soon enough to suit the rebels, they 
set a stable on fire near to our position, and the terror 
of the flames added greatly to the alarm. On swept 
the flames; and across the river, north of the town, 
another battle began between General Hobson, who 
had just arrived with the One Hundi^ed and Seventy- 
first Ohio, and a detachment of the rebels. Our Ohio 
boys, who had never seen an engagement before, held 
their ground gallantly for fifteen or twenty minutes 
before yielding to the superior numbers, which were 
constantly increasing. 

" The loss of life was surprisingly small — not more 
than fifteen in both engagements, and perhaps fifty 
wounded, many slightly. 

" I had nearly completed a list of killed and 
wounded, when I was taken prisoner as a war corre- 
spondent, and had every thing taken from me. 

" Colonel Berry was expected to die every moment, 
but after a few hours he rallied, but not so as to speak. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 807 

This morning it was thought possible he might live. 
Colonel Garis's wound is through the right shoulder 
and arm. Lieutenant-Colonel Barrere was also quite. 
severely wounded. 

" Companies B, C, H, and K, of the One Hundred 
and Sixty-eighth, were not in the fight. 

'' The following of the One Hundred and Seventy- 
first escaped capture, and returned to Robinson's 
Station, seven miles this side of Cynthiana : W. W. 
Powell, William Dana, George Holland, M. G. Butler, 
W. B. Taylor, Joseph Wilson (slightly wounded in the 
left arm), George G. Huff, Henry Hall, Byron Clark, 
Abner Harlep, Captain Henry L. Burnham, and Lieu- 
tenant Matthews. 

" Quarter-master Stambaugh arrived here to-day to 
join his regiment, but, it being captured, he will go no 
further. 

" The following of the One Hundred and Seventy- 
first have just come into Boyd's, after evading capture 
and dodging thirty hours in the woods : A. H. Belden, 
Adam Nye, A. J. Martin, C. S. Curtis, John M. Deal, 
George Hewey, and J. P. Lamister. 

" Of the Forty-seventh Kentucky, David Workman, 



368 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

A. Wright, John M. Smith, and R. M'Clellan, in a 
skirmish with scouts, were perhaps captured yester- 
-day, as they have not yet come in. It was a pitiable 
sight to see all the rest of our two young regiments 
hustled out of their retreats, without arms, and 
through the streets as prisoners. They were, in ail 
twelve or fifteen hundred, with ten from Mount Ster- 
ling, marched out, your correspondent in the lead, 
three miles on the Augusta pike. At daylight this 
morning I took French leave, and have not heard 
whether the regiments were paroled or not. They 
hoped to take them back into Virginia, unless Genera^. 
Hobson, w^ho was wounded, and has gone with Cap- 
tain Morgan to Cincinnati, can effect an immediate 
exchange. 

" The fire raged, notwithstanding vigorous efforts 
to stop it by citizens, till noon, when all the business 
portion of the town, over twenty houses, were con- 
sumed, with much of their contents, the rebels mean- 
while helping themselves abundantly. 

" The fire commenced at Rankin's stable, and con- 
tinued to the West House, burning all the buildings ; 
thence across to Broadwell corner, and down to I. T, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 3G9 

Martin's store ; tlience across to Dr. Broadwell's build- 
ings, to the jail, including that and the adjoining 
buildings. 

" The buildings destroyed are the following : Ran- 
kin's stable, a large frame ; Oxley's blacksmith and 
wagon shop ; Charles Daniel's law-office ; Nouse's 
paint-shop ; Smith's shoe-shop ; Dr. Woodruff's office ; 
Carpenter's carpenter-shop ; Gray's dwelling-house 
and confectionery ; Henry Johnson's barber-shop ; 
Charles A. Webster's hardware store ; Remington's 
storehouse, occupied by Deebey as confectionery, and 
by David Givens as store-rooms ; Mcintosh's three- 
story store, brick ; Miller & Redmond's storehouse ; 
Mrs. Snodgrass's house; Jack Kelley's tailor-shop; 
Frizell's storehouse, occupied as a clothing-store ; 
Erank Boxley's tin-shop; Tom Enghsh's shoe-shop; 
William L. Northcutt's storehouse ; Frizell's drug- 
store ; John L. McGee's residence ; Luken's boot and 
shoe store ; Dr. Smith's residence ; Nebell's clothing- 
store ; Dr. Boodwell's house and office ; a log-house 
on the river bank belonc-ino; to Caleb Walton ; the old 
Lowry House ; the old jail." 



370 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

[From tlie Cincinnati Commercial.] 
" In our accounts published thus far we have given 
the main points of the history of the affair at Keller's 
Bridge, and of the disaster to the railroad and trains 
at that point. But the nature of the fight, as display- 
ing great bravery and endurance on the part of the 
National Guard engaged, and the heavy loss, compar- 
atively speaking, that attended the fight, calls for a 
more jiarticular account of the same. Keller's Bridge, 
the scene of the engagement, is just sixty-five miles 
south of this city, and one mile this side of Cynthiana. 
It was destroyed by the rebels on Thursday last, in 
order to prevent the sending of troops along the rail- 
road. At five o'clock on Saturday morning last, the 
One Hundred and Seventy-first was disembarked at 
this poin-t, together with a handful of men who were to 
act as cavalry. The trains which had conveyed them 
immediately backed down the road two miles, where 
they were thrown from the track and burned. Upon 
being disembarked, the men of the One Hundred and 
Seventy -first were supplied with ammunition, and 
proceeded to eat their breakfast. Suddenly their quiet 
was disturbed by the rattle of musketry at Cynthiana, 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 371 

telling that hot work -^yas going on there bet^veen the 
One Hundred and Sixty-eighth and the rebel forces; 
and in a few moments, to their great surprise, they 
ascertained that the fields around themselves were 
ahve with the rebel forces. A volley of musketry was 
poured in upon them by a squad of the enemy massed 
behind the fence of a clover-field. From the first it 
was evident to General Hobson and Colonel Asper 
that their little band were completely surrounded; 
and, from the disposition of the rebel troops, it was 
evidently their design to conduct the fight in bush- 
whacking style from the brush, should our forces 
resist, which they probably did not beheve would be 
the case, as they were evidently two to their one in 
the first of the fight. 

"Under these circumstances, the regiment was di- 
vided into several squads, and sent to both east and 
west of the railroad, occupying such positions as they 
might secure. The rebels then appeared on every 
hand, displaying great activity in firing, and consider- 
able skill in keeping under cover from the fire of our 
troops. Throughout, the affair was as between sharp- 
ihooters, each man firing as he could obtain sight of 



372 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

one of the enemy. This contmued about five hours, 
the loss on both sides being extraordinarily heavy. 
That of the rebels was much greater than our own — • 
as much so, perhaps, proportionately, as their force 
was superior in numbers — we having seven hundred 
men, and they, with their reinforcements, two thou- 
sand. Against these great odds, the resistance made 
was desperate and determined. General Morgan, who, 
when the fight here commenced, Avas at Cynthiana 
(the rebel force being in command of General Getty), 
had supposed that the Union force would have surren- 
dered immediately. He considered his great odds, the 
greenness of our forces, and wondered, in impatience, 
how it occurred that the fighting continued. He had 
expected an immediate surrender, and sincerely de- 
sired it, as he did not wish to lose any of his men, 
even though the loss entailed upon our forces should 
be twice as heavy. He certainly had not expected 
this desperate resistance. He was surprised. He was 
astounded when, at nine o'clock A. M., a courier 
dashed up to him in haste at Cynthiana, and gave Gen- 
eral Getty's message, ^Reinforcements, or give it up!' 
Several hundred troops were immediately sent down 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 373 

the pike, Morgan at tlieir head, and with those the 
line was drawn still closer around the little band, 
until General Ilobson was forced to accept the flag 
of truce and Morgan's conditions of surrender — that 
the private property of the troops should be re- 
spected, and that the officers should retain their 
side-arms. General Hobson, so all accounts agree in 
saying, had done all that could be done, displaying, 
himself, the greatest personal courage, and, in thus 
surrendering, he decided for the best. 

" Such of the One Hundred and Seventy -first as 
remained were then drawn up along the pike; their 
arms were stacked and burned by the rebels, and they 
were marched through Cynthiana, a mile south, to a 
grove, when they were allowed to rest, and where they 
found the One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Regiment, 
or, rather, five companies of it — all that had been in 
the fight at Cynthiana — prisoners, like themselves. 
In an hour or so, however, the prisoners were marched 
three miles north on the Augusta pike, where they 
passed Saturday night. 

" Early on Sunday morning came the attack upon 
the main force of the rebels from General Burbridge, 



374 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

"wlio had arrived from Paris with a strong force, and 
two pieces of artillery, w4th which Morgan was un- 
pi ovided. 

'' With the first announcement of the approach of 
Burbridge, came an order from Morgan to the guard 
over the six hundred prisoners to start them north, 
which was done, and that, too, on the double-quick — • 
Morgan's main force, pursued by Burbridge, following 
at a distance of a few miles, 

" This forced march brought them to Claysville, 
eighteen miles north-east of Cynthiana, where they 
were halted, drawn up in line and paroled, and 
allowed to depart. In thus disposing of them, Mor- 
gan informed them that he had enough to attend to, 
to get out of the state, but that he should succeed in 
doing so. The rebel forces then struck due east, with 
the evident intention of reaching Virginia as soon as 
possible. The paroled prisoners continued on their 
way to Augusta, which place they reached on Sunday 
night, coming to this point by steamer yesterday 
morning. 

" General Hobson, who was taken prisoner, is now 
in a strange predicament, having agreed to procure an 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 875 

exchange. He is now at Falmouth — the escort or 
guard of rebel officers who were accompanying him 
having been taken prisoners at that point, on their 
way to the city, by Captain G. H. Laird, of General 
Hobson's staff. The question involved will necessitate 
a decision from the War Department. 

'•A dispatch received last night at Covington, from 
Boyd's Station, reports Morgan's forces scattered, in 
retreat, in different directions. Five hundred of them 
were attacked yesterday, near Claysville, on the Au- 
gusta pike, and badly cut up, by Colonel Garrard's 
command. Morgan's idea now seems to be to get out 
of Kentucky at the earliest possible moment." 

A description of the last fight at Cynthiana, be- 
tween the forces of Morgan and Burbridge, gives the 
following particulars : 

" The Federal infantry was posted on the right and 
left of the artillery, and the cavalry on the flanks — 
the Seventh Ohio on the left, and the Ninth Michigan 
on the right. The cavalry simultaneously flanked the 
rebels, and turned back their lines; the infantry, in 



376 MOKGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

the center, advancing steadily, and forcing back tlie 
rebel lines. 

" The rebel right gave way first — Colonel Minor 
charging in three lines, under a heavy rebel fire at 
short range, and relying on the saber. Colonel How- 
ard Smith quailed before their advance, and, turning 
his horse, led his men, in a panic, to and through the 
town. 

" In charging upon the rebel left, the Ninth Michi- 
gan struck too far to the right, and cut through to tlie 
rebel line, driving them to the river, but leaving a gap 
through which Morgan and a few hundred of his men 
escaped, following down the river, and taking the Au- 
gusta pike. 

" The infantry pressed back the rebel center, and 
handsomely repulsed a cavalry charge. The artillery 
meanwhile was moved up the pike, within half a mile 
of the town, and had hardly got in position, when 
another cavalry charge was made upon it. But a 
iBweeping fire of canister swept men and horses before 
it, and the rout, already begun, reached its climax. 
One by one, at first, the rebels fell back through the 
town, crossed the river, and followed the Vfilliams* 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 377 

town pike. The whole line closed in on them, and 
they rushed tumultuously through the streets. Down 
the railroad, over fences, up steep banks, and through 
the bottoms, the rebels plunged headlong, in their 
haste to escape. Hemmed in on the east side of the 
river, their line of escape was over the bridge west of 
town, which was filled with routed and panic-stricken 
horsemen. 

*' A general charge by columns down the streets was 
made by General Burbridge's forces, and Morgan's 
command completely routed. The rebels, unable to 
cross by the bridge, pushed into the river, great num- 
bers of whom were killed or drowned while crossing. 
Those who remained together struck off to the west, 
and were followed for six miles out by the pursuing 
forces, leaving their killed and wounded at every 
point. 

" In the engagement, Morgan himself commanded 
at first, but soon left his men under Colonel Howard 
Smith, and took to his heels. 

^'General Burbridge's success was complete. 

" On Sunday night. General Burbridge and staff, 
with four companies of the Eleventh Michigan Cav' 



378 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

airy, rode all night, and reached Georgetown by day- 
light. Colonel Garrard's command, which was mounted 
on fresh horses, and Colonel Hanson's brigade, con- 
tinued the pursuit. 

" Colonel Garrard's brigade followed Morgan closely 
to Clark Mountain, near Morehead, when further pur- 
suit would have been fruitless. The force had ridden 
the first eighty-five miles in twenty- four hours, and 
were worn down, out of rations, beyond the reach of 
forage, and unable to overhaul the main rebel force. 

" The total number who escaped with Morgan, ac- 
cording to reliable estimates, will not exceed seven 
hundred ; the remainder are killed, wounded, pris- 
oners, or skulking to find a more favorable oppor- 
tunity for escape. 

" Morgan's prestige is gone, and he sinks out of 
sight as the worst-whipped rebel General ever sent on 
a raiding expedition. Invited into the state by rebels, 
and aided by them at every turn, he found more than 
a match in the vigor and skill of General Burbridge 
and the bravery of his men. 

"Even the hundred-day men did themselves great 
credit, especially those under General Hobson. The 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 379 

severity of the fighting is shown in the large num- 
ber of killed and mortally wounded in the various 
battles. 

" In the vigor which was shown in the pursuit and 
defeat of Morgan, no cavalry force has made a better 
record than the Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky regi- 
ments engaged under General Burbridge. Not a man 
or officer failed to do his duty. 

" General Burbridge finds a great task before him 
in so administering the mihtary afiairs of the state as 
to secure full protection to loyal citizens.. He designs 
to organize a large force of colored troops for state 
defense. 

" The Union men of the state will tolerate no 
avowed rebel sympathizers in their midst, the issue 
now being narrowed down to this : Shall loyal or dis- 
loyal men live in Kentucky? It is a satisfaction to 
know that General Burbridge will sustain and protect 
loyal men. 

" The raid of Morgan has unmasked many conserv- 
atives, and they will find a swift and speedy retribu- 
tion awaiting them. Quite a number of arrests have 

already been made, in Lexington, of parties who will 
32 



380 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

be sent beyond the lines, for their open manifestationa 
of rebel sympathies." 

The train of cars that had taken the command of 
General Hobson to Cynthiana were ordered back, as 
soon as the soldiers had disembarked. Behind this 
was another train, with three hundred horses, which 
also started back toward Covington. Some secession 
citizens, however, had placed obstructions on the track, 
after the ca-vs had passed up toward Cynthiana. By 
this means the train, while backing along the track, 
was thrown off, and many of the horses were killed. 
None of the men were injured. 

During the battle on JSabbath morning, while Bur- 
bridge's force was charging through the town, Mr. 
Buzzard, a wealthy citizen of Cynthiana, hurrahed for 
Jeff. D'iyis, when some soldier shot him dead. 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 381 



CHAPTER XIII. 



PEOPHETICAL SPEECE OF STEPHEXS, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE KEBEL G0TETJX3IENT— 
THE PEATII OF MORGAN — KILLED BY ANDREW G. CAMPBELL, AN EAST TENNES- 
SEEAN — REBEL ACCOUNT OF HIS SURPRISE, DEATH, AND OBSEQUIES — CONCLUDING 
REMARKS. 



ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS, Vice-President of 
the rebel government, delivered a patriotic and 
eloquent speech before the Secession Convention of 
the State of Georgia, in January, 1861, in ^vhich he 
said : 

"This step (secession) once taken, can never be re- 
called, and all the baleful and withering consequences 
that must follow will rest on this convention for all 
coming time. When we and our posterity shall see 
our lovely South desolated by the demon of war, which 
ihis act of yours ivill inevitahhj invite and call forth ; 
^vhen our green fields of waving harvests shall be 
trodden down by the uiurderous soldiery and fiery car 
^f war sweeping over our land ; our temples of justice 



382 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

laid in ashes ; all the horrors and desolations of war 
upon us, who but this convention will be held respons- 
ible for it, and who but him who shall have given his 
vote for this unwise and ill-timed measure, as I hon- 
estly think and beheve, shall he held to strict account 
for this suicidal act hy the present generation, and prob- 
ably cursed and execrated by posterity for all coming 
time, for the wide and desolating ruin that will inevi- 
tably follow this act you now propose to perpetrate ? 

" Pause now, while you can, gentlemen, and contem- 
plate carefully and candidly these important items. 
Leaving out of vicAV, for the present, the countless 
millions of dollars you must expend in a war with the 
North; with tens of thousands of your sons and 
brothers slain in battle, and offered up as sacrifices 
upon the altar of your ambition — and for what ? Is it 
for the overthrow of the American Government, estab- 
lished by our common ancestry, cemented and built up 
by their sweat and blood, and founded on the broad 
principles of right, justice, and humanity? 

" They who inaugurate revolutions seldom ever live 
to see them close. They who sow to the wind shall 
reap the whirlwind." 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 383 

After three years and a half of unrelenting war, 
these words seem to have been almost prophetical. 
The " lovely South " is now " desolated by the demon 
of war;" many have been held to a "strict account" 
for secession and its consequences; "countless mill- 
ions of dollars have been expended," and " tens of 
thousands " of the sons of the South have perished in 
battle. How many of the Generals of the Confed- 
erate army, not to mention inferior officers and pri- 
vate soldiers, have fallen during the war, we know not. 
Southern papers admit a loss of tliirty-nine of their 
Generals, who have been captured, wounded, or killed, 
since the commencement of the present year. And now 
the name of Morgan is to be added to the list of those 
who have " sowed to the wind and reaped the whirl- 
wind." 

The announcement of his death was made to the 
country by the following telegram from General Gillam: 

" Bull's Gap, Tenn., September 4, 1864. 
" To General TiUeson : 

Sir — I surprised, defeated, and killed John Morgan 
at Greenville this morning. The killed are scattered 
for miles, and have not yet been counted. They prob- 



384 MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

ably number from fifty to one hundred, and about sev- 
enty prisoners. Among those captured were Morgan's 
staff, with one piece of artillery and a caisson. The 
enemy's force outnumbered mine, but the surprise was 
complete. 

[Signed] "Alvin C. Gillam." 

A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial thus 

writes : 

"Knoxville, Tenn., September 6, 1864. 

"Last night was a night of rejoicing in this goodly 
city of Knoxville, the occasion being the arrival of 
eighty-six prisoners, and the news of the death of 
General John H. Morgan, the notorious. 

" On the occasion of the late raid by Wheeler, Gen- 
eral Gillam thought it a matter of prudence to con- 
tract his lines somewhat, thus leaving the town of 
Greenville to the enemy, which they occupied. The 
scare having passed over. General Gillam moved for- 
ward, and learned that Morgan occupied the town. On 
Sunday morning, 4th instant, he surprised John Mor- 
gan and forces. They captured eighty-six prisoners 
and one gun. The prisoners belonged, for the most 
part, to McClung's battery, the members of which 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 385 

were formerly citizens of this region. Morgan him- 
self was at the house of Mrs. Williams, in the toAvn, 
and was so suddenly surprised that he rushed out of 
the house only partly dressed. As he was passing 
through the garden in the rear of the house, he was 
shot through the body, by Andrew G. Campbell, Com- 
pany G, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry. This man had 
two grievances aside from his desire to serve his coun- 
try, which made him more anxious to kill the great 
horse-thief. When our forces retired from that sec- 
tion, Captain Keenan, A. A. G., of General Gillam's 
staff, was left at the house of a widow. ^Vhen Morgan 
came up, he cursed the woman for receiving him into 
her house, and took the sick man and threw him into a 
rough road wagon, and said, ^Haul hini off like a hog;' 
8,nd our men have not heard from him since. The 
(({her grievance was, that Campbell had been con- 
Jicripted, and had to serve in the rebel ranks some 
months before he could escape. After shooting Mor- 
gan, he took the body on his horse and carried it about 
•one -fourth of a mile, and then pitching it to the ground, 
he observed to his officers, ' There he is, like a hog.' 
"Campbell has been promoted to the rank of a 



386 ' MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

Lieutenant for the service which he rendered his coun- 
try in the kiUing of Morgan, and he well deserves it. 
Let his name be remembered. 

"Two of Morgan's staff, Captain Charles Withers, 
A. A. G., formerly of Covington, and Captain Clay, 
son of Thomas H. Clay, and grandson of Henry Clc»y, 
were captured in the garden of Mrs. Williams, con- 
cealed in a hole in w^hich potatoes had been buried. 
Clay has been sent to the hospital here. 

" General Gillam is doing gallant service in East 
Tennessee, and you will soon hear from him again. 
His men are acquainted with all the mountain paths 
in the region through which they are now marching. 

The Abingdon Virginian gives the following ver- 
sion of the circumstances under which Morgan came 
to his death: 

*' On Saturday, the 3d instant, accompanied by the 
brigades of Giltner, Hodges, and Smith, and a detach- 
ment of Yaughan's, with four pieces of artillery. Gen- 
eral Morgan and his staff approached the town of 
Greenville, Tennessee. Scouts had brought the in- 



MORGAN AND HIS CAITORS. 387 

formation that the enemy were not nearer than Bull's 
Gap, sixteen miles distant, and, in addition, a guard 
had been sent into the village to reconnoiter. Upon 
the report of the enemy, Cassel's battalion, com- 
manded by Captain J. M. Clarke, together mth the 
four guns, Tvere posted some three or four hundred 
yards from the Court-house, when General Morgan 
and his staif entered and established head-quarters at 
the residence of Mrs. Dr. Williams, near the center 
of the town. Shortly after the advent of the guard in 
town, young Mrs. Williams (daughter-in-law of the 
lady at whose house General Morgan had his head- 
quarters) disappeared; a scout was sent for her, but 
could not find her, and, as she returned with the 
enemy next morning, it appears she had ridden all 
the way to Bull's Gap, and had given information of 
Morgan's whereabouts, and the strength of the guard. 
" Precaution had been taken to prevent the egress 
of persons who might convey information to the en- 
emy, and all the roads and avenues were picketed. 
After visiting the camps, and seeing that pickets had 
been duly posted. General Morgan and his staff, at a 

late hour of the night, retired to rest. Being greatly 
33 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 

fatigued, they slept very soundly, and were startled 
from their slumbers about six o'clock on Sunday 
morning by the elder Mrs. Williams, who informed 
them that the Yankees had surrounded the house. 
The General and his staff at once sprang from their 
beds, armed themselves, and rushed out at the oppo- 
site door to that at which the Yankees were thundering. 
*' On the side of the house where they escaped there 
is a very large yard and garden, with a great deal of 
foliage and a vineyard. These, together with the 
basement of the old hotel at the south-western ex- 
tremity of the grounds, enabled them to conceal them- 
selves for a time; but the Yankees by this time began 
to appear so thick and fast around them, that conceal- 
ment became hopeless, and they rushed out, to attempt 
to fight their way through, in the hope of succor and 
assistance from the battalion so near at hand. The 
officers with General Morgan were Major Gassett, 
Captains Withers, Rogers, and Clay, and a young gen- 
tleman by the name of Johnson, a clerk in the office 
of the Adjutant-General. At this time they were all, 
except Withers and Clay, in the basement of the old 
hotel, occupied by Mrs. Fry, (wife of the notorious 



MORGAN AND HIS CAPTORS. 389 

bushwhacker and murderer now in our possession), 
who was all the time calling to the Yankees, informino' 
them of the hiding-place of the 'rebels.' 

" Seeing escape almost hopeless, General Morgan 
directed Major Gassett to examine and see if there 
was any chance of escape from the front of the base- 
ment to the street. Major Gassett looked, and replied 
that there was a chance, but it was a desperate one, 
which General Morgan did not hear, as at that instant 
the Yankees charged up to the fence separating the 
hotel from Mrs. Williams's grounds, when the General, 
with Major Gassett, Captain Rogers, and Mr. John- 
son, sprang out in the direction of the vineyard, when 
the two latter were captured and the General killed." 

From the same authority we learn that the body 
was sent through the lines by a flag of truce, and was 
interred with imposing ceremonials, at Abingdon, Vir- 
ginia, on Tuesday evening, September 6. 

In the previous chapters of this work, Morgan has 
been spoken of as a living man. They were written 
and stereotyped before his death,^ and contain all we 
have to say of his character ajiA acfd. 






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